Jan Ullrich again hints at doping confession

Amazon documentary: "Jan Ullrich - The hunted"

Jan Ullrich has once again hinted at a comprehensive doping confession. "That I didn't cheat anyone was wrong. For me, it was aimed at my opponents, but of course the fans are also part of it," said the 49-year-old in a promotional clip for the Amazon documentary "Jan Ullrich - The Hunted".

The 1997 Tour de France winner had already said in September 2022 that he wanted to tell his story in the series, "the whole story". Ullrich had often denied accusations of doping with the sentence: "I never cheated on anyone."

Release date for Amazon documentary about Jan Ullrich

According to Amazon, the series, which will be released on 28 November, will take a "critical look at the career, the successes, the falls and the personality" of the Rostock native in four episodes. "I was in a really bad way too. I took cocaine en masse. I drank whiskey like water. Until shortly before I went bankrupt," said Ullrich. "20 years later, you recognise the mistakes you made."

>> Jan Ullrich then & now: The story of the German Tour de France winner

In the Amazon series, not only Jan Ullrich's great rival Lance Armstrong has his say, but also the Spanish doping doctor Eufemiano Fuentes. "They asked me for the miracle formula to become a winner," said Fuentes. It is not clear who this refers to in the clip, which is almost a minute long.

Jan Ullrich: Connections to Eufemiano Fuentes

Jan Ullrich triggered a cycling boom in Germany with his Tour victory. In 2006, the Sydney Olympic champion was suspended by his team shortly before the start of the Tour of France because he had links to Fuentes. Blood bags labelled "Jan" and "Rudi's son" were found at the gynaecologist's home during a raid. Rudi Pevenage, the mentor of the two-time time trial world champion, later admitted to having contact with Fuentes, as did Ullrich.

The International Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas) banned Ullrich for two years in 2012 and stripped him of his overall victory at the 2006 Tour de Suisse as well as his stage wins at the 2006 Giro d'Italia, the 2005 Tour of Germany and the 2005 and 2006 Tour de Suisse. Between 2010 and 2020, Ullrich made many negative headlines in his private life. Today he lives again in Merdingen in southern Baden.

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