First Bjarne Riis's Tour de France victory, followed a year later by Jan Ullrich's success; plus Erik Zabel's green jerseys - and always with the Telekom brand at the centre of it all: the popularity of the team and cycling in Germany was huge from the mid-1990s onwards. Behind the successes, however, was a doping system that brought cycling into disrepute in Germany for many years.
The genesis
The team later celebrated great successes at the town hall in Bonn, the headquarters of its sponsor Deutsche Telekom. However, the origins of the racing team lay in Stuttgart. There, Winfried Holtmann followed two vocations: as editor-in-chief of the Sindelfingen newspaper and as promoter of numerous cycling events, including the Coca-Cola Trophy and the six-day races in Stuttgart and Münster. But Holtmann wanted more: a German professional team. In 1989, he founded Team Stuttgart, financed by the city of Stuttgart and Daimler-Benz.
At almost the same time, Deutsche Telekom was created as an independent public company from Deutsche Bundespost as part of the postal reform. Telekom was striving for the image of a modern communications provider - and recognised cycling as an ideal advertising medium. Holtmann's hitherto second-class team provided the foundation. However, Team Telekom got off to a bumpy start in 1991: the team did not receive an invitation to the Tour de France. Holtmann was sacked at the end of the season. His successor: Walter Godefroot.
The most significant victory
15 July 1997, a mountain stage of the Tour de France to Andorra-Arcalis. The final climb is steep but rhythmic, with constant gradients of between six and eight per cent. A mountain made for Ullrich. Seated, with a high gear but fluid pedalling, he rides up the climb as if it were a flat section. After 252 kilometres, he finally wins the mountain finish with a 1:08 minute lead over Marco Pantani and puts on the yellow jersey for the first time at the finish. A "goosebump moment", as the 23-year-old said later. He is the ninth German to win yellow - but the first to never give it back: Ullrich wins the Tour in 1997 and writes German sporting history.
Ullrich was originally regarded as the second man in the team for the 1997 Tour behind Riis, the previous year's winner. The Dane had switched to Team Telekom in 1996 - as an expression of the new sense of ambition. Riis had already finished the Tour in fifth and third place and told the assembled reporters at the team meeting in December 1995 in no uncertain terms: "I want to win the Tour." And the 1996 Tour was a great triumph: Riis won the overall victory for the German team, Zabel the green jersey and the team the team classification.
Second on his debut: the young Ullrich. A year later, he proved to be significantly stronger than Riis early on, but remained loyal to his captain for a long time. It was only on the 10th stage to Andorra-Arcalis that he was given a free ride - depending on the interpretation, either on Riis' signal or after being told by team boss Godefroot: "The king is dead. Don't look back and step on the gas."
After the Tour, 20,000 spectators welcomed Ullrich at Bonn's Rathausplatz. Germany discovered its enthusiasm for cycling: Ullrich, the Tour de France, Team Telekom - from then on, almost everyone was familiar with these names.
The boss
Grumpy to deal with, tough on the bike: the Belgian media nicknamed Godefroot "the bulldog of Flanders" as a racing cyclist. His greatest successes: victories in the Tour of Flanders (1968 and 1978), Liège-Bastogne-Liège (1967) and Paris-Roubaix (1969).
As team boss, he epitomised the "old school", which defined cycling primarily in terms of work. Tireless riders like Udo Bölts and the professionalism of a Zabel were very popular with Godefroot - Ullrich's frequent lack of discipline, on the other hand, was anathema to him. Nevertheless, he was seen as a supporter of the young Ullrich and tied the 1993 amateur world champion to the team early on. Godefroot stood for clear announcements, but usually managed things in a controlled and pragmatic manner.
As team manager, he brought in the sports directors Frans Van Looy and Rudy Pevenage to support the team. Of the formerly strong GDR state team riders, only sprinter Olaf Ludwig was successful; Uwe Ampler was unable to fulfil the expectations placed in him. Apart from a Tour stage win for Ludwig in Montpellier in 1993, the results were initially lacking.
From 1996 onwards, the team's figureheads were Ullrich and Zabel - not only in sporting terms, but also as the advertising faces of Telekom. Behind them, top performers such as Alexandre Vinokourov and Andreas Klöden established themselves, as well as reliable forces such as Bert Dietz, Rolf Aldag, Jens Heppner, Christian Henn and Bölts. For years, the team was among the world's best, led and organised by Godefroot and his company Godefroot BVBA, where the riders were employed.
However, costly transfers of top international riders such as Santiago Botero and Paolo Savoldelli did not bring the hoped-for success from 2003 onwards. In addition, Godefroot's relationship with Ullrich became increasingly difficult. In 2004, with the team now bearing the name of the mobile phone subsidiary T-Mobile, he was joined by Olaf Ludwig. Godefroot retired at the end of 2005. He died in 2025 at the age of 82.
Jan Ullrich
The Tour victory brought Ullrich a level of popularity that he was not prepared for. Suddenly half of Germany was discussing his performance, his weight and his private life. Although Ullrich won the Vuelta a España in 1999 and Olympic gold in the road race in 2000, the Tour victory was what mattered most to the public. He came second in 1998, 2000 and 2001. After driving under the influence of alcohol, Ullrich tested positive for amphetamines in 2002 and was banned for six months. Telekom then parted company with its star, but brought him back in 2004 after Ullrich had again finished second in Bianchi's jersey at the 2003 Tour. He was unable to build on his earlier successes. In 2006, the team suspended him the day before the start of the Tour because of his connection to the Spanish doping doctor Eufemiano Fuentes. Years of private crises, alcohol and drug excesses followed. In 2023, Ullrich finally confessed to doping during his career in a TV documentary.
Erik Zabel
In 1995, Erik Zabel made a significant contribution to the continued existence of the team. At that time, Telekom only received authorisation for the Tour de France after a protest - as a compromise solution: six Telekom riders and three professionals from the Italian racing team ZG Selle Italia formed a mixed squad. Telekom had doubts about their continued involvement. But Zabel achieved his breakthrough in France with two stage wins. From 1996 onwards, he won the Tour de France green jersey six times in a row - a record until Peter Sagan overtook him with a seventh success in 2019. The Berlin was not a pure sprinter, but also rode over a few hills. His all-round qualities are reflected in four victories at Milan-San Remo and winning the overall World Cup in 2000. He left the team in 2006 because he was no longer considered for the Tour. Zabel later admitted to having doped between 1996 and 2003.
Udo Bölts
Udo Bölts is known for four words: "Torture yourself, you bastard!" With these words, he urged Ullrich on during the 1997 Tour when he experienced a weak phase in the Vosges. Bölts was already a member of Team Stuttgart and won the queen stage of the Giro d'Italia in the Telekom jersey in 1992, the Clásica San Sebastián in 1995 and the Critérium du Dauphiné in 1997. He later made himself indispensable as a helper. "Bölts is so strong, he never breaks," Godefroot once said about him. In 2000, Bölts took part in the Ironman Hawaii alongside cycling. He was in the team's Tour squad eleven times in a row until 2002, but was no longer given a contract at the end of the season. He spent the last year of his career in 2003 riding for Gerolsteiner. In 2007, Bölts confessed to doping in 1996 and 1997.
The great controversy
In 2007, former team masseur Jef D'hont published his memoirs and reported on systematic doping at Telekom. The Belgian accused team doctors Lothar Heinrich and Andreas Schmid from Freiburg University Hospital, among others, of coaching the riders in doping. It was mainly about the use of EPO. The system was organised and financed by Godefroot and his company Godefroot BVBA. The publication was followed by numerous confessions: first Dietz, then Aldag and Zabel, as well as Henn and Bölts. Riis, according to D'hont one of the most uninhibited dopers, also confessed - with little remorse - to using EPO. His Tour victory in 1996 was later cancelled from the list of winners. Ullrich, on the other hand, remained silent and denied everything. Godefroot also declared that he had never been aware of any doping in the team. Very few people believed him.
The end
The cycling successes helped Telekom to achieve unexpected brand popularity. However, the doping scandals became an image problem - especially as cycling in Germany as a whole fell into disrepute and was slow to recover. Nevertheless, Telekom promised to continue its sponsorship as agreed until 2010. One reason for this was Bob Stapleton, once CEO of T-Mobile USA, who led the racing team from 2006 and promised a strict anti-doping policy. However, when Patrick Sinkewitz tested positive at the 2007 Tour de France and came clean in November about his offences and the doping practices at Telekom, a rethink began. Telekom announced its immediate withdrawal as a sponsor from cycling. Stapleton continued to run the racing team until the end of 2011 - initially with the clothing brand Columbia as a sponsor, and later with the technology company HTC.
The trophy cabinet
- Tour de France 1996 (Bjarne Riis, later cancelled), 1997 (Jan Ullrich)
- Vuelta a España 1999 (Jan Ullrich)
- Milan-San Remo 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001 (Erik Zabel)
- Tour of Flanders 2004 (Steffen Wesemann)
- Liège-Bastogne-Liège 2005 (Alexandre Vinokourov)
