"People want to see Jan Ullrich": Pevenage talks about former Tour de France winner
DPA
· 28.06.2022
According to his former sports director Rudy Pevenage, Jan Ullrich should seek the limelight again.
"I just hope that Jan shows himself much more in public in the coming months. In the end, he did nothing. Belgium, Holland, Italy, Spain - all these people want to see Jan Ullrich," the Belgian told the German Press Agency.
Tour de France victory 25 years ago
Ullrich was the only German to win the Tour de France 25 years ago and triggered a cycling boom in Germany. The Rostock-born cyclist's career came to an abrupt end in 2006 after his connection to doping doctor Eufemiano Fuentes became public. He was later banned by the International Court of Justice for Sport Cas for this offence. After that, Ullrich also made many negative headlines in his private life.
The times at Ullrich's side were "the best moments in my life as sporting director", says Pevenage. "There were highs and lows. We had a lot of fun," said the 68-year-old. The Tour victory in 1997 was amazing. "You come back to a different life. He was in demand everywhere. That changed Jan's life. The calm was gone. It was unbelievable."
Armstrong had a different character
According to Pevenage, Ullrich should have won the Tour at least three times, especially in 1998 and 2003, but the German cycling star always lost out to Armstrong.
"I think Jan was stronger than Armstrong in terms of his athletic ability," says Pevenage. "Well, Armstrong also had a different character. He concentrated on cycling for the whole twelve months."
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