Ullrich travels to U.S., faces fresh assault allegation
The retired German cycling star, 44, is accused of assaulting someone at Hamburg airport this week.
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BERLIN (AFP) — Troubled former cycling star Jan Ullrich is again under police investigation over a fresh assault allegation.
A police spokesman confirmed to SID, an AFP subsidiary, that Ullrich, 44, Germany’s only Tour de France winner, is suspected of “suddenly assaulting” a 34-year-old man in the security-check area at Hamburg airport on Tuesday.
According to reports, the alleged victim lodged a formal complaint to police a few hours later, by which time Ullrich had flown to the United States via London.
Ullrich, who won the 1997 Tour de France, is already under investigation over an incident in early August when police briefly detained him for allegedly assaulting a prostitute in Frankfurt.
He was admitted to a psychiatric hospital before later joining a rehab program, where he was visited by his former rival Lance Armstrong in mid-August.
German daily Bild claims Ullrich flew to the U.S. on Tuesday to seek new rehabilitation treatment.
At the start of August, Ullrich was also detained for 24 hours by Spanish police after allegedly forcing his way into the home of his neighbor, German actor Til Schweiger, and threatening him.