"In order to be at the front of the Tour de France at that time, you had to manipulate. That was actually unavoidable," said Bölts on ARD radio. This applied to the entire field of riders. They also had to fulfil the pressure to succeed from the sponsors.
In 1997, Bölts was a member of Team Telekom's Tour squad, which helped Jan Ullrich to overall victory in the Tour of France. He did not comment on the doping practices of the only German Tour winner and the other team-mates. He himself had started taking EPO and growth hormones in 1996. He did not fear any consequences for his health. "The three-time German champion said, "The fear of failing, of being torn out of his sporting life, of being without a contract, was greater.
Bölts first confessed to taking doping substances in 2007. At the time, he had already ended his career and was working as the sporting director of the Gerolsteiner team, which was disbanded a year later. After his confession, Bölts retired completely from professional sport and now works for a bicycle manufacturer.
