Jan Ullrich, the only German winner of the Tour de France, will not be among the dignitaries attending the Grand Depart in Dusseldorf on Saturday.
The 1997 Tour winner was not invited by ASO and will instead mark the 20th anniversary of his historic win by taking part in a charity race in Bocholt, said Ulrich’s friend and former teammate Andreas Klöden in an interview with the Frankfurter Allgemeine newspaper.
"Jan is invited to Bocholt on the 20th anniversary of his Tour win in 1997, where he will race a charity race," Klöden said. "I am not invited, but I will be in Dusseldorf."
ADVERTISEMENT
Ullrich’s ties to the EPO era of cycling have left him somewhat of a pariah in the German cycling community. The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) banned him for two years in 2012 because of his connections to the Operación Puerto investigation of Spanish doctor Eufemiano Fuentes. Ullrich’s half-hearted confession has done little to rehabilitate his image.
Earlier this year, Ullrich stepped down from the role of Sporting Director at the Rund um Köln, just four days after his appointment was announced. He put the blame on negative media reports.
A second chance
Despite the negative press an ongoing issues with Ullrich’s legacy in cycling, many current German professionals indicated that he has paid his price and should be welcomed back into the cycling fold.
You can read more at Cyclingnews.com
via Cyclingnews Latest News http://ift.tt/2sXCrfy
No comments:
Post a Comment