German professional cyclist Maximilian Schachmann is annoyed by comparisons with the Ullrich era.
"As an athlete who has nothing to do with it", he suffers from it, the 28-year-old told the internet provider "t-online". Schachmann was two years old when Jan Ullrich won the Tour de France 25 years ago. "Many people think that nothing has changed in cycling since then."
There is no question that the sport has suffered as a result, said the 2019 and 2021 road champion. "We do everything we can for a clean sport, we go to great lengths to be among the best in the world." However, he is still often asked about doping and cannot understand "why so many people are so sceptical about our sport these days. Of course our performance is extreme. But we do nothing else every day and we are talented."
Hoping for the start of the tour
Schachmann is currently worried about his participation in the Tour de France due to a positive corona test. The 109th Tour of France begins on Friday in Copenhagen. His Bora-hansgrohe racing team has postponed his nomination "due to the current coronavirus situation", explained Schachmann.
Recently, there have been numerous cases of coronavirus in cycling. More than 40 riders had to end the Tour de Suisse prematurely. There were also three positive tests in the Bora team, including the Russian Aleksandr Vlasov, who had to leave the race in first place overall. Schachmann, on the other hand, had finished the tour in tenth place and only tested positive afterwards. The Berlin-born rider had already fallen ill with coronavirus at the start of the year and was subsequently struggling with a serious infection.
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