Twenty years after being banned from the Tour de France due to his links with the doping doctor Eufemiano Fuentes, former German cycling star Jan Ullrich has returned to the Tour de France as a spectator. “I’m absolutely delighted. Well, this is actually my very first visit as a guest – as a fan, so to speak – to the Tour de France. And then, of course, such an epic stage as today’s in the Vosges,” Ullrich told ARD.
The 1997 Tour de France winner was persona non grata at the world’s most important cycling race for many years due to his doping scandal. However, following his full confession to doping, the ‘ban’ was lifted. Ullrich was there with his sons – and was cheered on by the many German fans lining the route.
In 2023, Ullrich came clean about his doping past in a documentary; his book was published a year later. He found it difficult to go public. “So difficult that I ended up suffering from depression for many years,” said Ullrich. “I couldn’t have imagined that I would ever actually reveal this to the general public. I wanted to deal with it on my own. I kept it bottled up inside me all the time and ended up with huge problems, as everyone knows.” Coming clean was “the best thing I could have done”.
Ullrich has faith in today’s generation
“There are hardly any secrets left,” added Ullrich: “I’ve released the documentary and written a book, after all. So I reckon I’ve laid myself bare, so to speak.” It was “a dark era” back then. Ullrich believes that things have improved somewhat these days, even though he’s not so closely involved anymore.
“There are even more checks now, and the fines have gone up too, which I think is a good thing. And I believe we’ve learnt from this, in any case,” emphasised the 52-year-old.
Ullrich would love to be a professional cyclist today
Ullrich would love to be a professional cyclist again today. “Yes, it’s tempting,” said the 2000 Olympic champion: “I’d certainly be tempted. I mean, if I were 20 years younger, I’d compete again.” He said he’d “trained the wrong way for loads of kilometres” back then, pointing to the aerodynamic bikes, improved kit and, above all, nutrition.
With Florian Lipowitz, Germany once again has a “card up its sleeve”. Ullrich believes the 25-year-old is “definitely capable of a podium finish”. Last year, Lipowitz became the first German since 2006 to reach the podium in Paris. “And let’s see how far he can go. I think the race is still wide open and exciting,” said Ullrich.
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