Ullrich banned from public races in Germany
Cycling federation officials say the former Tour de France winner cannot participate in any sanctioned event in the country
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More bad news came for Jan Ullrich in his native Germany, where cycling federation officials say the former Tour de France winner cannot participate in any sanctioned event in the country.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport found Ullrich guilty of blood doping last week in a scandal dating back to 2006 for his role in the international doping ring Operación Puerto.
Ullrich last week publicly admitted for the first time he worked with Puerto ringleader Dr. Eufemiano Fuentes starting in 2005. A five-time Tour runner-up, Ullrich said he was tempted to work with the controversial Fuentes in a bid to win the Tour one more time.
Despite being retired since 2006, Ullrich is now banned from participating in any amateur or public cycling events sanctioned by the German cycling federation (BDR) in the wake of his two-year ban.
“According to the anti-doping rules of the BDR, the ban includes non-license holders and so it also concerns public races,” Reuters quoted BDR vice president Udo Sprenger. “So Ullrich is banned from starting in any Germany public race that has been authorized by the BDR.”
Ullrich has kept a low public profile since retiring, but has occasionally appeared in gran fondos and other public rides over the past few years. Reports say that Ullrich was supposed to participate a race in Bielefeld, Germany, in August.