It should come as no surprise to anyone that Jan Ullrich, 49, has not been forthcoming about his career. The former Tour winner has been involved in a number of scandals, but only now – during the screening of his documentary – the German himself has admitted his use of steroids. “I was guilty and I feel guilty now.”
The documentary “Jan Ullrich – The Hunted” will be released soon. After several turbulent years, Ulrich wants to share his story and yesterday spoke extensively about how he got to the bottom.
But in today’s screening of the docu-series, Ulrich went one step further. “Yes, I used steroids,” he said in a panel discussion.
“If I had told my story, I would have had many wonderful years. But I didn’t have the courage. Now it’s good to admit my guilt.”
Ullrich finished second in the 1996 Tour after his Telekom teammate Bjarne Riis. A year later he won the Tour as the first German ever. He won second place in 1998, 2000, 2001 and 2003.
I was guilty and now I feel guilty. I can say with all my heart that I didn’t want to deceive anyone. I didn’t want to get ahead of the other riders.
The end of his career was overshadowed by doping issues. In 2006, he was banned at the last minute from participating in the Tour due to his involvement in Operation Puerto.
Subsequently, the International Court of Sport (TAS) imposed a two-year ban on him for doping. He never returned to the peloton.
For years, Ulrich refused to confess, perhaps for fear of getting into legal trouble. In Munich, he finally wore burlap during the screening of his documentary.
“I was guilty and now I feel guilty. I can say with my hand on my heart that I didn’t want to deceive anyone. I didn’t want to get ahead of the other riders.”
“It was a different time then. Cycling had a system and I ended up in that. For me it was important to start the races with equal opportunities.”
Will Jan Ulrich remain on the honor roll?
The screening of the documentary was attended by his former Telekom sports directors Rudy Pevenage and Olaf Ludwig, former rider Ivan Basso and even the mother of his late rival Marco Pantani.
It is not clear whether the recognition would have consequences for Ullrich’s roll of honor and his overall victory at the 1997 Tour.
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