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THIS WEEK IN PRO CYCLING
'I never cheated,' says Ullrich as he announces retirement
Embattled German cycling star Jan Ullrich, a former winner and five-time runner-up of the Tour de France, announced his retirement from cycling on Monday.
Ullrich was one of dozens of cyclists implicated in an alleged doping network in Spain last year, which forced him out of competing in last year's Tour de France along with many other top riders.
The 33-year-old, the only German to win the world's most prestigious bike race, claimed Monday he never once cheated in his career.
"Today I'm ending my career as a professional cyclist. I never once cheated as a cyclist," said Ullrich, who called the press conference in Hamburg to discuss his future. "I still don't understand why I was not allowed to compete in the Tour last year."
After being implicated in an alleged doping scandal, dubbed 'Operación Puerto', last year, notably alongside Italian star Ivan Basso, Ullrich was eventually sacked by his T-Mobile team during the race.
The team said at the time that damaging evidence from Spanish investigators in Madrid prompted the decision to drop their star rider.
Ullrich said he never recovered from not being allowed to race the Tour last year.
"My life as a cyclist collapsed that day," added Ullrich, who went on to criticize the people who he said "condemned him before being properly judged."
"I've been painted as a criminal while I've done nothing wrong,” Ullrich said.
In recent months, none of the riders linked to Operación Puerto – launched to weed out an alleged doping and blood doping network being run by a Spanish doctor, Eufemiano Fuentes - have been sanctioned.
While Basso went on to be cleared of all wrongdoing by the Italian authorities, and has since signed for the Discovery Channel team, Ullrich fared less well in his search to resurrect his career.
The Switzerland-based German was first pursued by the Swiss federation over his alleged involvement in the affair, and more recently has been charged with sports fraud by prosecutors in Bonn.
Ullrich has always denied knowing Fuentes, who is set to stand trial in Spain this summer.
"At the start of this whole affair (Operación Puerto) it was difficult to take, now it's just sad," said Ullrich. Since the affair erupted Ullrich has not been short of detractors in his native Germany.
The German took the opportunity to hit back, aiming fire at Germany's former defense minister Rudolf Scharping, who has since become the president of the German cycling federation (BDR).
"Cycling doesn't benefit from men like him," said Ullrich.
For many years Ullrich was one of Germany's biggest and most popular sports personalities, his feats easily eclipsing the Formula One achievements of seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher.
But after returning to the Tour de France in 2000, having decided to race the Vuelta a España, which he won, in 1999, the German was faced with a new, and more determined rival in Lance Armstrong, the American who went on to win seven Tours de France.
Despite unquestionable individual talents which saw him win an Olympic road race crown and two world time trial titles, Ullrich and his various teams struggled to challenge Armstrong.
Ullrich came closest to winning the yellow jersey again in 2003 when he raced for Team Bianchi, finishing just a minute behind Armstrong.
In subsequent years he finished fourth (2004) and third (2005).
Jan Ullrich
Born: December 2, 1973, Rostock (former East Germany)
Height: 1.83 m
Weight: 73 kg
Tour of Switzerland (2004, 2006) plus 5 stage wins
Regio Tour 1996 Teams Telekom (1994-2002) Team Coast (2003) Bianchi (2003) T-Mobile (2004-2006)
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