Just days after Alberto Contador was found guilty of doping abuse by the CAS, Jan Ullrich shared his fate. He was found guilty of having business relations with famous doping medic Fuentes.
Ullrich was the brightest star of all German cyclists and won the 1997 Tour de France when his captain, Bjarne Riis (also a doper), struggled. Back then he was only 23 years old and all the hopes of German fans were on his shoulders. It seemed as if a future perennial winner of the Tour was born. However, things turned out differently. Ullrich never returned to the top of the Peloton and was often defeated by his nemesis Lance Armstrong. All of Ullrichs results since 2005 will be lost but he might not even care, as he failed to deliver what the public vehemently demanded: a second win of the Tour de France.
This could be a great chance to finally come clean and open up to the media and the prosecutors of the ongoing system of doping in pro cycling. Ullrich, however, only admits that he made "some big mistakes" under tremendous pressure. Whatever it is that keeps him quiet, I guess it is somewhat related to the only thing that is left: his win in 1997. Ullrich was a part of the doping machinery Team Telekom. He was cycling under Riis, who admitted having used performance enhancing substances when he won the Tour in 1996. Ullrich performed at the same (or at a better) level as well known dopers. So it is only logic that one might assume he was also involved in the doping system before 2005.
I wonder who will be next in line to be found guilty. Some winners of recent Tour de Frances are still perceived as clean...at least before the law.
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