In the 3rd episode of the Amazon Prime documentary "Jan Ullrich - The Hunted" entitled "Rivals", the former Tour de France winner continues his "ReTour". It is again about doping, the rivalry with Lance Armstrong is taken up and some tragic stories of cycling are also discussed.
"Jan Ullrich - The Hunted": Episode 3 - "Rivals": The plot
Madonna del Ghisallo - Casartelli and Simpson
Episode three starts with a visit by Jan Ullrich to the Madonna del Ghisallo, a small pilgrimage church not far from Lake Como that is famous for the Tour of Lombardy. The racing bikes of famous cyclists are on display there. These include that of Fabio Casartelli, who died in the 1995 Tour de France after a crash on the descent from the Col de Portet-d'Aspet. This ties in with a major theme in the third instalment: cycling and death.
The Amazon documentary tells the story of Tom Simpson, who died on the flanks of Mont Ventoux in 1967. The Briton had taken a mix of amphetamines and alcohol. He dehydrated in the scorching heat of Mont Ventoux and paid with his life.
Different approaches to doping in different countries
Jan Ullrich meets Ivan Basso in the documentary. The example of the former rivals illustrates the difference in dealing with the subject of doping between Germany and Italy. Ullrich and Basso were involved in the doping scandal surrounding the Spanish doctor Eufemiano Fuentes in 2006. Basso served his ban and then returned to the peloton. For Ullrich, however, the Fuentes affair meant the end of his career.
"Italy has forgiven Basso, after six months, after a year. Valverde still became world champion - Spain forgave him. Germany didn't. For years, Germany shot Jan again and again and again and again. As if a cyclist was the most important thing in the world," says Jan Ullrich's brother Stefan Ullrich.
The Festina affair
We look back to France and the 1998 Tour de France, which sank into a doping swamp - the Festina affair was one of the biggest doping scandals in the history of cycling. Festina masseur Willy Voet was caught with a large quantity of unauthorised substances. The police subsequently carried out raids on the teams. It became clear that the anti-doping system was ineffective. The Tour de France was about to be cancelled. Richard Virenque, the Festina captain at the time, and the then Tour director Jean-Marie Leblanc tell their side of the story in the third episode of "Jan Ullrich - The Hunted".
Tour de France 1998: Pantani triumphs - Ullrich collapses
On the road, the Tour de France 1998 is decided on the 15th stage. The stage leads over the dreaded Col du Galibier in pouring rain and temperatures just above freezing. Jan Ullrich is in the yellow jersey. Marco Pantani attacks shortly before the summit of the Galibier. At this point, the Italian is almost three minutes behind the German in the overall standings. But he suffers a hunger pang, collapses completely on the way to Les Deux Alpes and loses almost nine minutes to Pantani. The Tour is decided.
"That's where I lost the '98 Tour" - Jan Ullrich on the stage to Les Deux Alpes
The Amazon documentary now focuses for the first time on Marco Pantani, whose career and life went downhill after winning the Tour. In 1999, Pantani was excluded from the Giro d'Italia while in the lead due to an elevated haematocrit level. The crash followed. "Pantani fell into this vicious circle of depression and sought refuge from his dark inner self in cocaine," describes journalist Tommaso Torri.
While Pantani was targeted by doping investigators as early as 1999, all seemed well at Team Telekom. The documentary takes a critical look at the behaviour of those responsible at the time before moving on to the subject of Lance Armstrong.
Lance Armstrong vs. Jan Ullrich - the bluff of Alpe d'Huez
In the 3rd episode of "Jan Ullrich - The Hunted", the rivalry between Lance Armstrong and Jan Ullrich is explored. In particular, it is about the so-called bluff of Alpe d'Huez. Following Armstrong's comeback from cancer in 1999 and his commanding victory in 2000, the first major mountain stage of the 2001 Tour de France is eagerly awaited. Armstrong rides at the back of the peloton for a long time, grimaces at the television cameras as if he doesn't feel well - and Team Telekom falls into the trap. The men around Ullrich increase the pace and wear out their team. The tide turns at the foot of Alpe d'Huez.
Suddenly, Armstrong and a team-mate appear at the front of the peloton and turn the tables. "I thought, if they keep riding like this, where are the weaknesses?" Ullrich describes in the documentary. Armstrong turns round, pulls away and reaches the finish with a lead of almost two minutes.
"We wanted to destroy Lance that day. But he actually destroyed us in the end." - Jan Ullrich on the ride to Alpe d'Huez 2001
First contact with Eufemiano Fuentes & Tour de France 2003
After losing the 2001 Tour de France, Jan Ullrich has a difficult year. A knee injury plagues him in 2002. In addition, the German is banned for six months after testing positive for amphetamines. This is followed by a break with Team Telekom. In 2003, Ullrich and his long-time companion Rudy Pevenage joined Team Coast, which later became Team Bianchi. It is also Pevenage who establishes contact with Eufemiano Fuentes. The doctor offers athletes self-blood doping, which Ullrich also takes advantage of.
In 2003, the documentary also takes another look at the sporting duel between Ullrich and Armstrong. The German is sniffing at a second Tour victory. Just over a minute remains to be made up in the final time trial - a week earlier, Ullrich had taken 1:36 minutes off his rival in the battle against the clock. Nothing seemed impossible, but a crash in a roundabout on a wet road put an end to the dream. "He was unlucky, but I think Jan would have won the Tour," says Eufemiano Fuentes.
Death of Marco Pantani
The 3rd episode of "Jan Ullrich - The Hunted" takes up the subject of Marco Pantani again, as it is the year 2004. On 14 February, the lifeless body of the exceptional Italian climber is found in a hotel room in Rimini. Drugs were involved. The case still haunts the cycling world today.
"I was so shocked and sad that I couldn't train for two days" - Jan Ullrich on the death of Marco Pantani
In the documentary, Ullrich visits his father Paolo Pantani's Pantani Museum in Italy. Pantani's mother Tonina Belletti recalls that she called Ullrich on the tenth anniversary of her son's death and he came to visit. She had looked for him in the newspapers. "Under no circumstances did I want him to end up like Marco. That wouldn't be worth it," says Tonina Belletti about Ullrich and his life crisis.
Conclusion on the 3rd episode of "Jan Ullrich - The Hunted"
The 3rd episode of "Jan Ullrich - The Hunted" takes a chronological approach. The time span of the events from Jan Ullrich's life that are taken as an occasion ranges from 1998 to 2004. The 1997 Tour de France winner also has a very high proportion of speech in this episode and describes key moments in his life from his perspective. He also talks extensively about the subject of doping once again. Fellow travellers such as Rudy Pevenage, Lance Armstrong and Ivan Basso complement Ullrich's statements. Journalists such as Stephan Klemm, Hajo Seppelt and Tommaso Torri provide their analyses.
The third episode is packed with the most diverse stages of Ullrich's life and is very thought-provoking, especially when it comes to the deaths of Fabio Casartelli, Tom Simpson and Marco Pantani. The final sequences in particular, in which Pantani's mother has her say, really get under your skin.
Book tip on the subject of Jan Ullrich
To go with the Amazon documentary, we have another book tip: "Ulle" - Jan Ullrich. The story of a tragic hero. Author Sebastian Moll sheds light on the rise and fall of the Tour de France winner. The book is published by Delius Klasing Verlag and available here.
