Jan Ullrich - the rise and fall of a German sporting hero
When Jan Ullrich stormed irresistibly up the ramps to Andorra-Arcalis on that summer day on July 15, 1997, the whole of Germany was suddenly in cycling fever. The likeable boy from Rostock with the red-blonde hair and freckles on his face grabs the yellow jersey at the Tour de France and doesn't take it off again until Paris. "Voilà le Patron", headlines the Tour organ "L'Équipe", talking about the "Boris Becker of cycling".
Success story and thrilling duels with Armstrong
From then on, millions of people gather in front of the television every July and suffer for hours with Ullrich as he climbs the mountain giants in the Alps and the Pyrenees. Sponsors and organizers queue up. Ullrich is everybody's darling, the pop star on two wheels. The buddy type who likes to go over the top in winter and carry around a few extra pounds.
Thrilling duels with his great rival Lance Armstrong followed, but he was always a little faster in the end. The Texan, obsessed and cured of cancer, won the Tour of France seven times, using unauthorized means, as it later turned out. Ullrich's popularity was not to suffer as a result. In addition to his overall victory in 1997, Ullrich finishes second in the Tour five times. He becomes world champion and Olympic champion.
End of career after Fuentes scandal
When Ullrich made another attempt at the Tour throne after Armstrong's career ended in 2006, reports from Spain about the large-scale "Operacion Puerto" made big waves. Ullrich is exposed as a client of doping doctor Eufemiano Fuentes and is removed from the starting field before the Tour. His T-Mobile team pulls the emergency brake and Ullrich's career is over in one fell swoop. Many of his former teammates, such as Erik Zabel and Rolf Aldag, confess to doping. The only thing you ever hear from Ullrich is the same sentence: "I didn't cheat anyone." He remains silent - possibly out of fear of the financial consequences.
Ullrich retires. In 2010, he announced on his website that he was suffering from burnout syndrome. In 2012, his legal case was closed with a ban by the International Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) and he was stripped of all his successes from May 1, 2005 onwards. Shortly afterwards, Ullrich at least admitted to the Fuentes treatments in an interview with "Focus". Meanwhile, a 2013 report by the French Senate's anti-doping commission found that he had used Epo during the 1998 Tour, which is no longer relevant under sporting law.
Crash on Mallorca
Ullrich's name is ostracized by the media, sponsors and event organizers. As high as he was once hailed, his fall is now just as low. Only for the fans is he still the popular "Ulle", who is still celebrated on the roadside during the Tour detour in Germany in 2017. Ullrich moves to Mallorca with his wife and children, but after 13 years, their marriage breaks up.
Ullrich surrounds himself with shady characters, cocaine and whiskey dominate his life. After an argument with neighbor and TV star Til Schweiger, Ullrich ends up in jail for a night and a little later in a private clinic for addictive disorders. One of the first visitors is Armstrong, who helps his old rival.
A new start in Germany
Ullrich returns to Germany and lives in seclusion in Merdingen, close to his four children. He wants to leave his eventful life behind him. "I was in heaven and I was in hell. Now I'm back on earth, on my way to the center," Ullrich tells Stern. He will be 50 years old in December. Before then, he wants to tell how it all happened in the documentary "Jan Ullrich - The Hunted", which can be seen on Amazon Prime from November 28. A step he would probably have been better off taking 17 years ago.
Despite his rivalry with Lance Armstrong, whose victories were later revealed to be achieved through doping, Jan Ullrich's popularity remained largely unaffected. Nevertheless, reports linking Ullrich to doping doctor Eufemiano Fuentes in 2006 led to his removal from the Tour de France starting field and ultimately marked the end of his cycling career.
After a period of struggle with burnout, addictions, and legal battles, Jan Ullrich is now seeking a fresh start in Germany, aiming to leave his eventful past behind and sharing his story in the upcoming documentary "Jan Ullrich - The Hunted."
Source: www.dpa.com
