Jan Ullrich
Encyclopedia
Jan Ullrich is a German former professional road bicycle racer. In 1997, he was the first German to win the Tour de France
. He went on to take five second places and a fourth in 2004 and third in 2005. He is considered one of the best time-trialists in the history of the sport. In 2006, Ullrich was barred from the Tour amid speculation of having doped
. He retired in late February 2007.
Ullrich won a gold and a silver in the 2000 Summer Olympics
in Sydney. He also won the 1999 Vuelta a España
. Although not a one-day specialist, he won the HEW Cyclassics in front of a home crowd in Hamburg
in 1997, and had podium finishes in the hilly classic Clásica de San Sebastián
. His victorious ride in the 1997 Tour de France
led to a bicycle boom in Germany.
And also Ullrich was Number 1 in the top 100 sportspeople in Germany of the 20th century in 2011.
attending the KJS sports school in Berlin in 1986. In 1988, he was champion of the German Democratic Republic
. The school closed two years after the fall of the Berlin wall
in 1989. He, his trainer Peter Sager, and teammates joined an amateur club in Hamburg until 1994. In 1991, he was 5th in the amateur cyclo-cross world championships.
In 1993, aged 19, at the Hamburg club, Ullrich won the Cycling World Amateur Road Championship in Oslo
, as Lance Armstrong
won the professional championship.
. He finished third behind Chris Boardman
and Andrea Chiurato
in the world time trial championship in Sicily
.
Ullrich was inconspicuous in his first 18 months as a professional. In 1995 he became national time trial
champion. He also achieved top ten placings on stages of the 1995 Tour de Suisse
. At 21 he wanted to start the 1995 Tour de France
but Godefroot thought it was early. Instead he went to the small German stage race, the Hofbrau Cup, where he ended 3rd. Ullrich started the Vuelta later that year only to abandon on stage 12.
cracked. Ullrich finished 30 seconds back, 22 behind his teammate Bjarne Riis
while Indurain finished four minutes down. On the following stage, he finished in the same group as Indurain 40 seconds behind Riis. On stage 9, Riis rode into the yellow jersey while Ullrich finished 44 seconds back and also into 5th place overall 1 minute 38 seconds from Riis.
Over the final mountains, Ullrich rode into second place behind Riis, but he conceded time on each mountain stage, eventually being nearly four minutes behind Riis. He won the final individual time trial
and secured his first Tour stage win. He cut 2 minutes 18 seconds into Riis's lead . This led Indurain to comment that Ullrich would win the Tour some day, adding that it was a remarkable victory considering that Ullrich had been helping Riis. Ullrich dismissed suggestions he would have done better if he had not had to help Riis, saying Riis had inspired the team. Jan finished his first tour in second place at 1 minute 41 seconds from his teammate Bjarne Riis
.
Ullrich had two wins before the 1997 Tour; a stage in the Tour de Suisse
and the national Road Race championship a week before the tour. He became favorite in the 1997 Tour de France
. He started strongly, finishing second in the prologue behind Chris Boardman
. On stage 9, the first mountain stage which was won by Laurent Brochard
, Ullrich worked for Riis. Only on the last ascent when Richard Virenque
attacked did Ullrich react. Riis struggled to keep up and finished 30 seconds behind Virenque, Marco Pantani
and Ullrich. On stage 10 from Luchon to Andorra Arcalis, with Riis again falling back, Ullrich dropped back to the teamcar to ask permission to attack. He returned to the lead group and pushed up the climb leaving Pantani and Virenque. He finished a minute ahead which earned his first yellow jersey
. L'Équipe
, greeted Ullrich with Voilà le Patron ("Here is the boss"). Ullrich won the Stage 12 time trial with three minutes between himself and the second placed rider, Virenque, who had started three minutes in front of him.
Marco Pantani
attacked on the stage to the Alpe d'Huez
. Ullrich, who was nine minutes ahead of Pantani overall, limited his losses to 47 seconds. Pantani attacked again on the Morzine stage and won, while Ullrich again limited his losses. In the final time trial, won by Abraham Olano
, Ullrich extended his lead over Virenque and the following day became the first German to win the Tour de France
. At 23, Ullrich was the fourth youngest winner of the Tour since 1947. Two weeks later, he won the Hews Cycling Classic in Hamburg. A further two weeks later Ullrich was beaten by Davide Rebellin
in a sprint in the GP Suisse. He was chosen "sports person of the year" in Germany in 1997.
blew the Tour apart with a victory which began on the Galibier. Ullrich was without support when Pantani attacked. Pantani topped the Galibier alone. It was misty and the roads were wet. The descent was dangerous and Pantani increased his lead. By the bottom of the final climb, Les Deux Alpes, Pantani had nearly four minutes. Telekom brought Udo Bölts
and then Riis to pace Ullrich. Pantani was race leader as he crossed the line. Ullrich finished almost nine minutes back, dropping to fourth position, six minutes behind Pantani.
Ullrich attacked on stage 16 on the Col de la Madeleine. Only Pantani could match him. Ullrich did all the work. Over the top, they started to work together. Ullrich won a photo-finish sprint and moved into third. He won the final stage, a 20 km time trial, and moved into second.
The Tour of 1998 was haunted by doping affairs, giving it the nickname "Tour de Dopage".
In the following year during the inaugural Deutschland Tour
, Ullrich fell after getting entangled with Udo Bölts
during stage 3. He had a knee injury and could not ride the 1999 Tour, which ended in the first of seven victories for Lance Armstrong
. Ullrich set his targets on the world time trial championship in October by riding the Vuelta.
champion Abraham Olano
of Team ONCE in a group sprint that included Frank Vandenbroucke
, Roberto Heras
and Davide Rebellin
. Olano took the leader's golden jersey with Ullrich second. Olano won the following stage, a time trial, with almost one minute over Ullrich and increased his lead in stage 8. On stage 11, Ullrich gained 30 seconds back on Olano. Ullrich took the lead on stage 12 won by Igor González de Galdeano
, Olano faltered due to a broken rib and finished seven minutes behind Ullrich. He later abandoned the race.
Gonzales de Galdeano had moved into second overall and became a threat to Ullrich. On stage 18 Banesto
and other Spanish teams tried to crack Ullrich, who struggled on the final climb but recovered to limit his losses to González. In the final time trial, Ullrich won by almost three minutes and built his overall lead to four minutes on González. Ullrich won his second major Tour. Several weeks later he became world time trial champion over Sweden's Michael Andersson and Briton Chris Boardman
.
brought Ullrich, Marco Pantani and Armstrong against each other for the first time. Armstrong proved too strong and won then and again in 2001. Ullrich crashed in 2001 and Armstrong waited for him to return to his bike. Ullrich cited his failure to defeat Armstrong as why he fell into depression next year.
Ullrich rode well in the 2000 Summer Olympics
in Sydney, Australia. After establishing a three-man break with Telekom teammates Andreas Klöden
and Alexandre Vinokourov, Ullrich won the gold with Vinokourov second and Klöden rounding out the all-Telekom podium. He won the silver in the time-trial, losing by only seven seconds to Viatcheslav Ekimov
but beating Armstrong soundly into third.
In May 2002, Ullrich had his driver's license revoked after a drunk driving incident. After a positive blood sample for amphetamine
in June 2002, Ullrich's contract with Team Telekom was ended, and he was banned for six months. He said he had taken ecstasy with amphetamine. He had not been racing since January due to a knee injury, and the German Cycling Federation
's disciplinary committee agreed that he was not attempting to use the drug for performance enhancement
, so he was given a minimum suspension.
In January 2003, Ullrich and his advisor Rudy Pevenage
joined Team Coast, but Coast pulled out after financial problems and Team Bianchi
replaced it. Ullrich returned to racing in March 2003 .
was the first for many years that Ullrich had not been considered a favorite. In the first week, Ullrich became sick and almost retired. He lost a minute and a half on Armstrong in the Alps. Ullrich fought back in the time trial. Armstrong had trouble with the heat and lost one and a half minutes to Ullrich. Ullrich was within a minute of Armstrong in the classification. The next day, he closed the gap by another 19 seconds in the first mountain stage. Two days later Ullrich rode away from Armstrong on the Tourmalet but Armstrong caught up. Half way into the next climb, Luz Ardiden, Armstrong's handlebar got caught in a spectator's yellow musette waving in the mid-air and he fell. Ullrich waited for Armstrong to recover. Armstrong then caught the group and attacked shortly afterwards.
Ullrich lost 40 seconds in the final kilometers, but the final time trial would be decisive. In it, Ullrich crashed and saw a stage and Tour victory disappear. He ended second by 61 seconds.
Germany made Ullrich sportsman of the year. Commenting on Ullrich's wait for Armstrong to recover, Dan Boyle, of the Institute for International Sport said "It was an act that will live with him forever, cynics will say he lost money, but it was a highly commendable thing that he did."
. He won the Tour de Suisse
. In the Tour de France, he finished fourth, 8:50 behind Armstrong, his first finish lower than second. Klöden finished second and Ivan Basso
third.
For 2005, Ullrich again captained T-Mobile. He maintained a low profile for the early season, surfacing in the 2005 Tour de Suisse
, which he finished third behind Aitor González
and Michael Rogers.
The day before the 2005 Tour de France, Ullrich was training when his team car stopped unexpectedly. Ullrich hit the back window, ending up in the back seat of the car. Less than 24 hours later Ullrich was passed by Armstrong in the time trial. Ullrich fell again in the mountains, bruising his ribs. He could not keep up with Armstrong or Ivan Basso
. Ullrich began focusing on finishing ahead of Michael Rasmussen
for a podium position. He rode a good second time trial, beating all but Armstrong. Rasmussen had several crashes and bike changes, which gave Ullrich a podium place in the Tour.
In May, riding the Giro d'Italia
to prepare for the Tour, Ullrich targeted the stage 11 50 km time trial, and won by 28 seconds over Ivan Basso
, who beat Marco Pinotti
by another 33 seconds. Only five riders finished within two minutes of Ullrich.
Ullrich dropped out of the Giro during stage 19, with back pain. Rudy Pevenage said the problem was not bad but that Ullrich wanted to avoid Tour de France problems.
Ullrich won the Tour de Suisse
for a second time, winning the final time trial and jumping from third to first.
in a doping scandal, Operación Puerto. Ullrich denied the rumors. However on 30 June 2006, one day before the Tour, he was suspended from participating. Ivan Basso
and other riders were also excluded. Ullrich maintains that he has nothing to do with Eufemiano Fuentes
, the sports doctor whose doping network was uncovered in the scandal.
On 20 July 2006, Ullrich was fired from T-Mobile. General manager Olaf Ludwig announced the news during the 18th stage of the Tour between Morzine and Macon. Ullrich said his dismissal was 'unacceptable.'
On 3 August 2006, doping expert Werner Franke
claimed Ullrich purchased about €35,000 worth of doping products a year based on documents uncovered in the Operación Puerto doping case
. A German court imposed a gag order
on Franke after it found there was not enough evidence to link Ullrich to doping. On 14 September 2006, officials raided Ullrich's house and collected DNA material while Ullrich was honeymooning with his new wife Sara. On 4 April 2007, Ullrich's DNA sample, had "without a doubt" matched nine bags of blood taken from Eufemiano Fuentes
' office.
On 18 October 2006, Ullrich laid off his personal physiotherapist Birgit Krohme. Speculation rose that this was a sign that Ullrich had given up hope of returning to racing. Ullrich denied these rumors. On 25 October 2006, a document from the Spanish court on Ullrich's website stated that no charges would be filed.
On Monday, 26 February 2007, Ullrich retired. At the press conference in Hamburg he said, "Today, I'm ending my career as a professional cyclist. I never once cheated as a cyclist." He said he would be an advisor to Team Volksbank
.
The IOC
has investigated if Ullrich should be stripped from his golden medal won at the 2000 Olympic Games, but decided that there was no solid evidence against Ullrich, and that Ullrich could keep his medal.
The three models take their names from Ullrich's career: the entry-level Campione model (at around € 1.300) with an aluminum frame, which relates to his Amateur World Championships victory in Oslo 1993, the mid-level Olymp model (at around €1.700) with a carbon-fiber frame, relating to his Sydney Olympics success in 2000 and the top-level Grand-Tour model (at around €2.700), also featuring a carbon-fiber frame, superior quality materials and custom measures.
The bicycles are built in a partnership with German builders Ghost Bikes.
, Germany, from 1994 to 2002 with his partner Gaby Weiss, with whom he had a daughter, Sarah Maria, on 1 July 2003. They moved to Scherzingen, Switzerland, in 2002. Since separating in 2005, said to be because Weiss's reluctance to be in the limelight conflicted with Ullrich's celebrity life, Ullrich has continued to live in Scherzingen. Weiss returned with Sarah to Merdingen. In September 2006 Ullrich married Sara Steinhauser, sister of his former teammate and training partner, Tobias Steinhauser
. Their first child, Max, was born five weeks prematurely on 7 August 2007. Their second son, Benno, was born on the 25 January 2011.
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2003
2004
2005
2006
Tour de France
The Tour de France is an annual bicycle race held in France and nearby countries. First staged in 1903, the race covers more than and lasts three weeks. As the best known and most prestigious of cycling's three "Grand Tours", the Tour de France attracts riders and teams from around the world. The...
. He went on to take five second places and a fourth in 2004 and third in 2005. He is considered one of the best time-trialists in the history of the sport. In 2006, Ullrich was barred from the Tour amid speculation of having doped
Doping (sport)
The use of performance-enhancing drugs in sport is commonly referred to by the term "doping", particularly by those organizations that regulate competitions. The use of performance enhancing drugs is mostly done to improve athletic performance. This is why many sports ban the use of performance...
. He retired in late February 2007.
Ullrich won a gold and a silver in the 2000 Summer Olympics
2000 Summer Olympics
The Sydney 2000 Summer Olympic Games or the Millennium Games/Games of the New Millennium, officially known as the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated between 15 September and 1 October 2000 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...
in Sydney. He also won the 1999 Vuelta a España
Vuelta a España
The Vuelta a España is a three-week road bicycle racing stage race that is one of the three "Grand Tours" of Europe and part of the UCI World Ranking calendar. The race lasts three weeks and attracts cyclists from around the world. The race is broken into day-long segments, called stages...
. Although not a one-day specialist, he won the HEW Cyclassics in front of a home crowd in Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
in 1997, and had podium finishes in the hilly classic Clásica de San Sebastián
Clásica de San Sebastián
The Donostia-Donostia Klasikoa - Clásica San Sebastián-San Sebastián is a cycle race that has been held every summer since 1981 in San Sebastián, Spain...
. His victorious ride in the 1997 Tour de France
1997 Tour de France
The 1997 Tour de France was the 84th Tour de France, it took place July 5–27, 1997. Jan Ullrich's victory margin, of 9' 09" was the largest margin of victory since Laurent Fignon won the 1984 Tour de France by 10' 32"...
led to a bicycle boom in Germany.
And also Ullrich was Number 1 in the top 100 sportspeople in Germany of the 20th century in 2011.
Early training
Ullrich won his first bicycle race at 11. He was educated in the sports training system of the German Democratic RepublicGerman Democratic Republic
The German Democratic Republic , informally called East Germany by West Germany and other countries, was a socialist state established in 1949 in the Soviet zone of occupied Germany, including East Berlin of the Allied-occupied capital city...
attending the KJS sports school in Berlin in 1986. In 1988, he was champion of the German Democratic Republic
German Democratic Republic
The German Democratic Republic , informally called East Germany by West Germany and other countries, was a socialist state established in 1949 in the Soviet zone of occupied Germany, including East Berlin of the Allied-occupied capital city...
. The school closed two years after the fall of the Berlin wall
Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall was a barrier constructed by the German Democratic Republic starting on 13 August 1961, that completely cut off West Berlin from surrounding East Germany and from East Berlin...
in 1989. He, his trainer Peter Sager, and teammates joined an amateur club in Hamburg until 1994. In 1991, he was 5th in the amateur cyclo-cross world championships.
In 1993, aged 19, at the Hamburg club, Ullrich won the Cycling World Amateur Road Championship in Oslo
Oslo
Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
, as Lance Armstrong
Lance Armstrong
Lance Edward Armstrong is an American former professional road racing cyclist who won the Tour de France a record seven consecutive times, after having survived testicular cancer. He is also the founder and chairman of the Lance Armstrong Foundation for cancer research and support...
won the professional championship.
Early professional career
In 1994 with Becker as his agent, Ullrich turned professional for the Telekom team under Walter GodefrootWalter Godefroot
Walter Godefroot is a retired Belgian professional road bicycle racer and former directeur sportif of , later known as T-Mobile Team, professional team....
. He finished third behind Chris Boardman
Chris Boardman
Christopher "Chris" Boardman MBE is a former English racing cyclist who won an individual pursuit gold medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics and broke the world hour record three times, as well as winning three stages and wearing the yellow jersey on three separate occasions at the Tour de France...
and Andrea Chiurato
Andrea Chiurato
Andrea Chiurato is an Italian former road bicycle racer.-Palmarès:199019931994*...
in the world time trial championship in Sicily
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
.
Ullrich was inconspicuous in his first 18 months as a professional. In 1995 he became national time trial
Time trial
In many racing sports an athlete will compete in a time trial against the clock to secure the fastest time. In cycling, for example, a time trial can be a single track cycling event, or an individual or team time trial on the road, and either or both of the latter may form components of...
champion. He also achieved top ten placings on stages of the 1995 Tour de Suisse
Tour de Suisse
The Tour de Suisse is a UCI World Tour stage race held annually in June. The race debuted in 1933 and has evolved in timing, duration and sponsorship. With the Critérium du Dauphiné, it is a proving ground for the Tour de France, and part of the UCI World Ranking calendar...
. At 21 he wanted to start the 1995 Tour de France
Tour de France
The Tour de France is an annual bicycle race held in France and nearby countries. First staged in 1903, the race covers more than and lasts three weeks. As the best known and most prestigious of cycling's three "Grand Tours", the Tour de France attracts riders and teams from around the world. The...
but Godefroot thought it was early. Instead he went to the small German stage race, the Hofbrau Cup, where he ended 3rd. Ullrich started the Vuelta later that year only to abandon on stage 12.
1996 Tour de France
Ullrich gave up a place in the 1996 German Olympic team to ride his first Tour. He finished the prologue 33 seconds down. He stayed within the top 20 until the mountains on stage 7 when Miguel IndurainMiguel Indurain
Miguel Ángel Indurain Larraya is a retired Spanish road racing cyclist. He won five consecutive Tour de Frances from 1991 and 1995, the first to do so, and the fourth athlete to win five times. He won the Giro d'Italia twice, becoming one of only seven people in history to achieve the Giro Tour...
cracked. Ullrich finished 30 seconds back, 22 behind his teammate Bjarne Riis
Bjarne Riis
Bjarne Lykkegård Riis , nicknamed The Eagle from Herning , is a Danish former professional road bicycle racer who placed first in the 1996 Tour de France, and is now the team owner and manager of Danish UCI ProTour outfit Team Saxo Bank Sungard...
while Indurain finished four minutes down. On the following stage, he finished in the same group as Indurain 40 seconds behind Riis. On stage 9, Riis rode into the yellow jersey while Ullrich finished 44 seconds back and also into 5th place overall 1 minute 38 seconds from Riis.
Over the final mountains, Ullrich rode into second place behind Riis, but he conceded time on each mountain stage, eventually being nearly four minutes behind Riis. He won the final individual time trial
Individual time trial
An individual time trial is a road bicycle race in which cyclists race alone against the clock . There are also track-based time trials where riders compete in velodromes, and team time trials...
and secured his first Tour stage win. He cut 2 minutes 18 seconds into Riis's lead . This led Indurain to comment that Ullrich would win the Tour some day, adding that it was a remarkable victory considering that Ullrich had been helping Riis. Ullrich dismissed suggestions he would have done better if he had not had to help Riis, saying Riis had inspired the team. Jan finished his first tour in second place at 1 minute 41 seconds from his teammate Bjarne Riis
Bjarne Riis
Bjarne Lykkegård Riis , nicknamed The Eagle from Herning , is a Danish former professional road bicycle racer who placed first in the 1996 Tour de France, and is now the team owner and manager of Danish UCI ProTour outfit Team Saxo Bank Sungard...
.
1997 Tour de France
Tour de Suisse
The Tour de Suisse is a UCI World Tour stage race held annually in June. The race debuted in 1933 and has evolved in timing, duration and sponsorship. With the Critérium du Dauphiné, it is a proving ground for the Tour de France, and part of the UCI World Ranking calendar...
and the national Road Race championship a week before the tour. He became favorite in the 1997 Tour de France
1997 Tour de France
The 1997 Tour de France was the 84th Tour de France, it took place July 5–27, 1997. Jan Ullrich's victory margin, of 9' 09" was the largest margin of victory since Laurent Fignon won the 1984 Tour de France by 10' 32"...
. He started strongly, finishing second in the prologue behind Chris Boardman
Chris Boardman
Christopher "Chris" Boardman MBE is a former English racing cyclist who won an individual pursuit gold medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics and broke the world hour record three times, as well as winning three stages and wearing the yellow jersey on three separate occasions at the Tour de France...
. On stage 9, the first mountain stage which was won by Laurent Brochard
Laurent Brochard
Laurent Brochard is a retired professional road racing cyclist from France. In 1997 he won a stage of the Tour de France and became world road champion in San Sebastián, Spain....
, Ullrich worked for Riis. Only on the last ascent when Richard Virenque
Richard Virenque
Richard VirenqueRichard Virenque's name is pronounced Ree-shah Vee-rahnk. Virenque considers himself a man of the South but pronounces his name in standard French. Confusion is caused by the southern habit of pronouncing "en" as "ang" or "eng", making it Vee-rank. But Virenque says Vee-rahnk or...
attacked did Ullrich react. Riis struggled to keep up and finished 30 seconds behind Virenque, Marco Pantani
Marco Pantani
Marco Pantani was an Italian road racing cyclist, widely considered one of the best climbers in professional road bicycle racing...
and Ullrich. On stage 10 from Luchon to Andorra Arcalis, with Riis again falling back, Ullrich dropped back to the teamcar to ask permission to attack. He returned to the lead group and pushed up the climb leaving Pantani and Virenque. He finished a minute ahead which earned his first yellow jersey
Yellow jersey
The general classification in the Tour de France is the most important classification, the one by which the winner of the Tour de France is determined. Since 1919, the leader of the general classification wears the yellow jersey .-History:...
. L'Équipe
L'Équipe
L'Équipe is a French nationwide daily newspaper devoted to sports, owned by Éditions Philippe Amaury. The paper is noted for coverage of football , rugby, motorsports and cycling...
, greeted Ullrich with Voilà le Patron ("Here is the boss"). Ullrich won the Stage 12 time trial with three minutes between himself and the second placed rider, Virenque, who had started three minutes in front of him.
Marco Pantani
Marco Pantani
Marco Pantani was an Italian road racing cyclist, widely considered one of the best climbers in professional road bicycle racing...
attacked on the stage to the Alpe d'Huez
Alpe d'Huez
L'Alpe d'Huez is a ski resort at . It is a mountain pasture in the Central French Alps, in the commune of Huez, in the Isère département in the Rhône-Alpes region.-Tour de France:L'Alpe d'Huez is one of the main mountains in the Tour de France...
. Ullrich, who was nine minutes ahead of Pantani overall, limited his losses to 47 seconds. Pantani attacked again on the Morzine stage and won, while Ullrich again limited his losses. In the final time trial, won by Abraham Olano
Ábraham Olano
Abraham Olano Manzano is a Spanish Basque former professional road racing cyclist. His crowning achievement came in 1995 when he became World Road Champion...
, Ullrich extended his lead over Virenque and the following day became the first German to win the Tour de France
Tour de France
The Tour de France is an annual bicycle race held in France and nearby countries. First staged in 1903, the race covers more than and lasts three weeks. As the best known and most prestigious of cycling's three "Grand Tours", the Tour de France attracts riders and teams from around the world. The...
. At 23, Ullrich was the fourth youngest winner of the Tour since 1947. Two weeks later, he won the Hews Cycling Classic in Hamburg. A further two weeks later Ullrich was beaten by Davide Rebellin
Davide Rebellin
Davide Rebellin is an Italian road bicycle racer, currently riding for the Italian Miche-Guerciotti team. He served a 2-year suspension for testing positive for Mircera at the 2008 Olympic Games...
in a sprint in the GP Suisse. He was chosen "sports person of the year" in Germany in 1997.
1998 Tour de France
Ullrich was defending champion in 1998. He took the yellow jersey on stage 7, a time trial, over 58 km of undulating roads. However, on stage 15 Marco PantaniMarco Pantani
Marco Pantani was an Italian road racing cyclist, widely considered one of the best climbers in professional road bicycle racing...
blew the Tour apart with a victory which began on the Galibier. Ullrich was without support when Pantani attacked. Pantani topped the Galibier alone. It was misty and the roads were wet. The descent was dangerous and Pantani increased his lead. By the bottom of the final climb, Les Deux Alpes, Pantani had nearly four minutes. Telekom brought Udo Bölts
Udo Bölts
Udo Bölts in Rodalben is a retired German racing cyclist, the brother of Hartmut Bölts.Bölts is one of the most successful German cyclists, and from the beginning of his career he distinguished himself as a coureageous rider who liked to get into breakaways...
and then Riis to pace Ullrich. Pantani was race leader as he crossed the line. Ullrich finished almost nine minutes back, dropping to fourth position, six minutes behind Pantani.
Ullrich attacked on stage 16 on the Col de la Madeleine. Only Pantani could match him. Ullrich did all the work. Over the top, they started to work together. Ullrich won a photo-finish sprint and moved into third. He won the final stage, a 20 km time trial, and moved into second.
The Tour of 1998 was haunted by doping affairs, giving it the nickname "Tour de Dopage".
In the following year during the inaugural Deutschland Tour
Deutschland Tour
The Deutschland Tour was the most important multi-stage road bicycle race in Germany. Initially the race was held in May/June. Since 2005 it is part of the UCI ProTour and has been moved to August...
, Ullrich fell after getting entangled with Udo Bölts
Udo Bölts
Udo Bölts in Rodalben is a retired German racing cyclist, the brother of Hartmut Bölts.Bölts is one of the most successful German cyclists, and from the beginning of his career he distinguished himself as a coureageous rider who liked to get into breakaways...
during stage 3. He had a knee injury and could not ride the 1999 Tour, which ended in the first of seven victories for Lance Armstrong
Lance Armstrong
Lance Edward Armstrong is an American former professional road racing cyclist who won the Tour de France a record seven consecutive times, after having survived testicular cancer. He is also the founder and chairman of the Lance Armstrong Foundation for cancer research and support...
. Ullrich set his targets on the world time trial championship in October by riding the Vuelta.
1999 Vuelta a España
On the first mountain stage, Ullrich narrowly won against the defending Vuelta a EspañaVuelta a España
The Vuelta a España is a three-week road bicycle racing stage race that is one of the three "Grand Tours" of Europe and part of the UCI World Ranking calendar. The race lasts three weeks and attracts cyclists from around the world. The race is broken into day-long segments, called stages...
champion Abraham Olano
Ábraham Olano
Abraham Olano Manzano is a Spanish Basque former professional road racing cyclist. His crowning achievement came in 1995 when he became World Road Champion...
of Team ONCE in a group sprint that included Frank Vandenbroucke
Frank Vandenbroucke (cyclist)
Frank Vandenbroucke , was a Belgian professional road racing cyclist. He was the great hope of Belgian cycling in the 1990s but a remarkable talent which appeared in his adolescence in athletics and then in cycle racing dissipated in a succession of drugs problems, rows with teams, suicide...
, Roberto Heras
Roberto Heras
Roberto Heras Hernández is a Spanish former professional road bicycle racer who won the Vuelta a España a record-tying three times. He broke the record with a fourth win in 2005, but was disqualified for taking EPO. In June 2011, Heras successfully appealed the disqualification in the civil court...
and Davide Rebellin
Davide Rebellin
Davide Rebellin is an Italian road bicycle racer, currently riding for the Italian Miche-Guerciotti team. He served a 2-year suspension for testing positive for Mircera at the 2008 Olympic Games...
. Olano took the leader's golden jersey with Ullrich second. Olano won the following stage, a time trial, with almost one minute over Ullrich and increased his lead in stage 8. On stage 11, Ullrich gained 30 seconds back on Olano. Ullrich took the lead on stage 12 won by Igor González de Galdeano
Igor González de Galdeano
Igor González de Galdeano Aranzabal is a Spanish former professional road bicycle racer and current team manager of UCI ProTeam...
, Olano faltered due to a broken rib and finished seven minutes behind Ullrich. He later abandoned the race.
Gonzales de Galdeano had moved into second overall and became a threat to Ullrich. On stage 18 Banesto
Banesto
Banesto is a Spanish bank, 88.4% owned by Banco Santander. Currently Banesto is the fifth-largest banking group in Spain, operating around 1,770 branches....
and other Spanish teams tried to crack Ullrich, who struggled on the final climb but recovered to limit his losses to González. In the final time trial, Ullrich won by almost three minutes and built his overall lead to four minutes on González. Ullrich won his second major Tour. Several weeks later he became world time trial champion over Sweden's Michael Andersson and Briton Chris Boardman
Chris Boardman
Christopher "Chris" Boardman MBE is a former English racing cyclist who won an individual pursuit gold medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics and broke the world hour record three times, as well as winning three stages and wearing the yellow jersey on three separate occasions at the Tour de France...
.
2000 – 2002 Tours
The 2000 Tour de France2000 Tour de France
The 2000 Tour de France was the 87th Tour de France, and took place from July 1 to July 23, 2000. It was won by American cyclist Lance Armstrong. The Tour started with an individual time trial in Futuroscope and ended traditionally in Paris. The distance travelled was 3662.5 km...
brought Ullrich, Marco Pantani and Armstrong against each other for the first time. Armstrong proved too strong and won then and again in 2001. Ullrich crashed in 2001 and Armstrong waited for him to return to his bike. Ullrich cited his failure to defeat Armstrong as why he fell into depression next year.
Ullrich rode well in the 2000 Summer Olympics
2000 Summer Olympics
The Sydney 2000 Summer Olympic Games or the Millennium Games/Games of the New Millennium, officially known as the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated between 15 September and 1 October 2000 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...
in Sydney, Australia. After establishing a three-man break with Telekom teammates Andreas Klöden
Andreas Klöden
Andreas Klöden is a German professional road bicycle racer for UCI ProTour team . His major achievements include a bronze medal at the 2000 Olympic Games and second place in the 2004 Tour de France and 2006 Tour de France...
and Alexandre Vinokourov, Ullrich won the gold with Vinokourov second and Klöden rounding out the all-Telekom podium. He won the silver in the time-trial, losing by only seven seconds to Viatcheslav Ekimov
Viatcheslav Ekimov
Viatcheslav Vladimirovich Ekimov , nicknamed Eki, is a Russian former professional racing cyclist...
but beating Armstrong soundly into third.
In May 2002, Ullrich had his driver's license revoked after a drunk driving incident. After a positive blood sample for amphetamine
Amphetamine
Amphetamine or amfetamine is a psychostimulant drug of the phenethylamine class which produces increased wakefulness and focus in association with decreased fatigue and appetite.Brand names of medications that contain, or metabolize into, amphetamine include Adderall, Dexedrine, Dextrostat,...
in June 2002, Ullrich's contract with Team Telekom was ended, and he was banned for six months. He said he had taken ecstasy with amphetamine. He had not been racing since January due to a knee injury, and the German Cycling Federation
German Cycling Federation
The German Cycling Federation or BDR is the national governing body of cycle racing in Germany.The BDR is a member of the UCI and the UEC.-History:...
's disciplinary committee agreed that he was not attempting to use the drug for performance enhancement
Doping (sport)
The use of performance-enhancing drugs in sport is commonly referred to by the term "doping", particularly by those organizations that regulate competitions. The use of performance enhancing drugs is mostly done to improve athletic performance. This is why many sports ban the use of performance...
, so he was given a minimum suspension.
In January 2003, Ullrich and his advisor Rudy Pevenage
Rudy Pevenage
Rudy Pévenage is a former Belgian cyclist, and later in his career team coach of cycling teams such as Histor, La William, Team Bianchi and T-Mobile Team....
joined Team Coast, but Coast pulled out after financial problems and Team Bianchi
Team Bianchi
Team Bianchi was a makeshift team that was put together from the remnants of the Coast team in time for the 2003 Tour de France.Team Coast had been unable to pay the salaries of their riders and Bianchi took over the team and the role of title sponsor. Coast had recently signed Jan Ullrich...
replaced it. Ullrich returned to racing in March 2003 .
2003 Tour and sportsmanship
The 2003 Tour de France2003 Tour de France
The 2003 Tour de France started and ended in Paris. Lasting from July 5 to July 27 the race covered 3,427.5 km , proceeding clockwise in twenty stages around France, including six major mountain stages...
was the first for many years that Ullrich had not been considered a favorite. In the first week, Ullrich became sick and almost retired. He lost a minute and a half on Armstrong in the Alps. Ullrich fought back in the time trial. Armstrong had trouble with the heat and lost one and a half minutes to Ullrich. Ullrich was within a minute of Armstrong in the classification. The next day, he closed the gap by another 19 seconds in the first mountain stage. Two days later Ullrich rode away from Armstrong on the Tourmalet but Armstrong caught up. Half way into the next climb, Luz Ardiden, Armstrong's handlebar got caught in a spectator's yellow musette waving in the mid-air and he fell. Ullrich waited for Armstrong to recover. Armstrong then caught the group and attacked shortly afterwards.
Ullrich lost 40 seconds in the final kilometers, but the final time trial would be decisive. In it, Ullrich crashed and saw a stage and Tour victory disappear. He ended second by 61 seconds.
Germany made Ullrich sportsman of the year. Commenting on Ullrich's wait for Armstrong to recover, Dan Boyle, of the Institute for International Sport said "It was an act that will live with him forever, cynics will say he lost money, but it was a highly commendable thing that he did."
2004 and 2005 Tour
For 2004 Ullrich returned to Team Telekom, now named T-MobileT-Mobile
T-Mobile International AG is a German-based holding company for Deutsche Telekom AG's various mobile communications subsidiaries outside Germany. Based in Bonn, Germany, its subsidiaries operate GSM and UMTS-based cellular networks in Europe, the United States, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands...
. He won the Tour de Suisse
Tour de Suisse
The Tour de Suisse is a UCI World Tour stage race held annually in June. The race debuted in 1933 and has evolved in timing, duration and sponsorship. With the Critérium du Dauphiné, it is a proving ground for the Tour de France, and part of the UCI World Ranking calendar...
. In the Tour de France, he finished fourth, 8:50 behind Armstrong, his first finish lower than second. Klöden finished second and Ivan Basso
Ivan Basso
Ivan Basso is an Italian professional road bicycle racer who is currently racing with UCI ProTeam . Basso, nicknamed Ivan the Terrible, is among the best mountain riders in the professional field in the 21st century, and is considered one of the strongest stage race riders...
third.
Tour de Suisse
The Tour de Suisse is a UCI World Tour stage race held annually in June. The race debuted in 1933 and has evolved in timing, duration and sponsorship. With the Critérium du Dauphiné, it is a proving ground for the Tour de France, and part of the UCI World Ranking calendar...
, which he finished third behind Aitor González
Aitor González
Aitor González Jiménez is a former Spanish road bicycle racer who raced as a professional from 1998 to 2005. He turned professional in 1998 with Avianca-Telecom; his last was Euskaltel-Euskadi. He won the 2002 Vuelta a España with Kelme after attacking his teammate leading the race. He won and the...
and Michael Rogers.
The day before the 2005 Tour de France, Ullrich was training when his team car stopped unexpectedly. Ullrich hit the back window, ending up in the back seat of the car. Less than 24 hours later Ullrich was passed by Armstrong in the time trial. Ullrich fell again in the mountains, bruising his ribs. He could not keep up with Armstrong or Ivan Basso
Ivan Basso
Ivan Basso is an Italian professional road bicycle racer who is currently racing with UCI ProTeam . Basso, nicknamed Ivan the Terrible, is among the best mountain riders in the professional field in the 21st century, and is considered one of the strongest stage race riders...
. Ullrich began focusing on finishing ahead of Michael Rasmussen
Michael Rasmussen
Michael Rasmussen is a Danish professional road bicycle racer who rides for the Danish team Christina Watches-Onfone. In the 2007 Tour de France, Rasmussen, while in the yellow jersey, had his contract terminated by his team and was removed from the Tour...
for a podium position. He rode a good second time trial, beating all but Armstrong. Rasmussen had several crashes and bike changes, which gave Ullrich a podium place in the Tour.
Post-Armstrong
Armstrong retired after the Tour in 2005. Ullrich decided to ride one or two more years. Early reports said Ullrich was in better shape than previous years and could be ready for his second victory in the Tour. Ullrich finished 115th in the Tour de Romandie on 30 April. However, he injured his knee in the off-season, which could have limited his performance in the 2006 Tour, had he participated (see below).In May, riding the Giro d'Italia
Giro d'Italia
The Giro d'Italia , also simply known as The Giro, is a long distance road bicycle racing stage race for professional cyclists held over three weeks in May/early June in and around Italy. The Giro is one of the three Grand Tours , and is part of the UCI World Ranking calendar...
to prepare for the Tour, Ullrich targeted the stage 11 50 km time trial, and won by 28 seconds over Ivan Basso
Ivan Basso
Ivan Basso is an Italian professional road bicycle racer who is currently racing with UCI ProTeam . Basso, nicknamed Ivan the Terrible, is among the best mountain riders in the professional field in the 21st century, and is considered one of the strongest stage race riders...
, who beat Marco Pinotti
Marco Pinotti
Marco Pinotti is an Italian road racing cyclist for UCI ProTeam . Pinotti is a specialist of individual time trial, in which he is a five-time Italian Time Trial Champion ....
by another 33 seconds. Only five riders finished within two minutes of Ullrich.
Ullrich dropped out of the Giro during stage 19, with back pain. Rudy Pevenage said the problem was not bad but that Ullrich wanted to avoid Tour de France problems.
Ullrich won the Tour de Suisse
Tour de Suisse
The Tour de Suisse is a UCI World Tour stage race held annually in June. The race debuted in 1933 and has evolved in timing, duration and sponsorship. With the Critérium du Dauphiné, it is a proving ground for the Tour de France, and part of the UCI World Ranking calendar...
for a second time, winning the final time trial and jumping from third to first.
Operación Puerto doping case
Ullrich was mentioned in the weeks before the 2006 Tour de France2006 Tour de France
The 2006 Tour de France was the 93rd Tour de France, taking place from July 1 to July 23, 2006. It was won by Óscar Pereiro following the disqualification of apparent winner Floyd Landis....
in a doping scandal, Operación Puerto. Ullrich denied the rumors. However on 30 June 2006, one day before the Tour, he was suspended from participating. Ivan Basso
Ivan Basso
Ivan Basso is an Italian professional road bicycle racer who is currently racing with UCI ProTeam . Basso, nicknamed Ivan the Terrible, is among the best mountain riders in the professional field in the 21st century, and is considered one of the strongest stage race riders...
and other riders were also excluded. Ullrich maintains that he has nothing to do with Eufemiano Fuentes
Eufemiano Fuentes
Doctor Eufemiano Fuentes is a Spanish sports doctor best known for being implicated in the Operación Puerto doping case.Fuentes was once an athlete. He then became the team doctor of Team ONCE, Amaya and the Kelme. The former Kelme rider Jesús Manzano accused Fuentes of being involved with doping....
, the sports doctor whose doping network was uncovered in the scandal.
On 20 July 2006, Ullrich was fired from T-Mobile. General manager Olaf Ludwig announced the news during the 18th stage of the Tour between Morzine and Macon. Ullrich said his dismissal was 'unacceptable.'
- I am very disappointed that this decision was not communicated to me personally but that it was faxed to my lawyers. I find it shameful that, after so many years of good cooperation and after all I have done for the team, I am being treated as a fax number.
On 3 August 2006, doping expert Werner Franke
Werner Franke
Werner Franke is a professor of cell and molecular biology at the German Cancer Research Center in Heidelberg.After completing high school , he studied chemistry, biology and physics at the University of Heidelberg...
claimed Ullrich purchased about €35,000 worth of doping products a year based on documents uncovered in the Operación Puerto doping case
Operación Puerto doping case
Operación Puerto is the code name of a Spanish Police operation against the doping network of Doctor Eufemiano Fuentes, started in May 2006, which resulted in a scandal that involved several of the world most famous cyclists at the time.Media attention has focused on the small number of...
. A German court imposed a gag order
Gag order
A gag order is an order, sometimes a legal order by a court or government, other times a private order by an employer or other institution, restricting information or comment from being made public.Gag orders are often used against participants involved in a lawsuit or criminal trial...
on Franke after it found there was not enough evidence to link Ullrich to doping. On 14 September 2006, officials raided Ullrich's house and collected DNA material while Ullrich was honeymooning with his new wife Sara. On 4 April 2007, Ullrich's DNA sample, had "without a doubt" matched nine bags of blood taken from Eufemiano Fuentes
Eufemiano Fuentes
Doctor Eufemiano Fuentes is a Spanish sports doctor best known for being implicated in the Operación Puerto doping case.Fuentes was once an athlete. He then became the team doctor of Team ONCE, Amaya and the Kelme. The former Kelme rider Jesús Manzano accused Fuentes of being involved with doping....
' office.
On 18 October 2006, Ullrich laid off his personal physiotherapist Birgit Krohme. Speculation rose that this was a sign that Ullrich had given up hope of returning to racing. Ullrich denied these rumors. On 25 October 2006, a document from the Spanish court on Ullrich's website stated that no charges would be filed.
On Monday, 26 February 2007, Ullrich retired. At the press conference in Hamburg he said, "Today, I'm ending my career as a professional cyclist. I never once cheated as a cyclist." He said he would be an advisor to Team Volksbank
Team Volksbank
Team Vorarlberg is a cycling team based in Austria. The team was previously known as Volksbank until the 2009 season, when the Austrian state Vorarlberg became a title sponsor. They were registered as a UCI Professional Continental team in 2010 until June 12, when their license was suspended...
.
The IOC
International Olympic Committee
The International Olympic Committee is an international corporation based in Lausanne, Switzerland, created by Pierre de Coubertin on 23 June 1894 with Demetrios Vikelas as its first president...
has investigated if Ullrich should be stripped from his golden medal won at the 2000 Olympic Games, but decided that there was no solid evidence against Ullrich, and that Ullrich could keep his medal.
Ullrich bicycles
In May 2006 Ullrich launched Jan Ullrich Collection bicycles, which he helped to develop.The three models take their names from Ullrich's career: the entry-level Campione model (at around € 1.300) with an aluminum frame, which relates to his Amateur World Championships victory in Oslo 1993, the mid-level Olymp model (at around €1.700) with a carbon-fiber frame, relating to his Sydney Olympics success in 2000 and the top-level Grand-Tour model (at around €2.700), also featuring a carbon-fiber frame, superior quality materials and custom measures.
The bicycles are built in a partnership with German builders Ghost Bikes.
Personal
Ullrich lived in MerdingenMerdingen
Merdingen is a town in the district of Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald in Baden-Württemberg in Germany. Merdingen's main industry are vineyards. Jan Ullrich was a notable resident until 2002....
, Germany, from 1994 to 2002 with his partner Gaby Weiss, with whom he had a daughter, Sarah Maria, on 1 July 2003. They moved to Scherzingen, Switzerland, in 2002. Since separating in 2005, said to be because Weiss's reluctance to be in the limelight conflicted with Ullrich's celebrity life, Ullrich has continued to live in Scherzingen. Weiss returned with Sarah to Merdingen. In September 2006 Ullrich married Sara Steinhauser, sister of his former teammate and training partner, Tobias Steinhauser
Tobias Steinhauser
Tobias Steinhauser is a former German cyclist. He is the brother-in-law of Jan Ullrich.Steinhauser lives together with his wife and three children in Scheidegg, Bavaria....
. Their first child, Max, was born five weeks prematurely on 7 August 2007. Their second son, Benno, was born on the 25 January 2011.
Quotes
- "I have seen many lean riders in the peloton, but very few Tour winners", in response to criticism about his weight.
- "My motivation doesn't come from rivals, but because I love cycling. That's what motivates me…. I don't get my motivation by putting the picture of my rival on the mirror"
- "Totally messed up", replying to a journalist who asked him how he felt after winning stage 12 of the 2003 Tour de France2003 Tour de FranceThe 2003 Tour de France started and ended in Paris. Lasting from July 5 to July 27 the race covered 3,427.5 km , proceeding clockwise in twenty stages around France, including six major mountain stages...
.
Palmarès
1993
Amateur World Road Race Cycling Champion
1995
National Time Trial Champion- Tour du LimousinTour du LimousinTour du Limousin is a 4-day road bicycle race held annually in Limousin, France. It was first held in 1968 and since 2005 it has been organised as a 2.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour. In 2011 it was upgraded to an 2.HC event. Between 1968 and 1974 it was an amateur race.-Winners:-External links:* *...
- 2nd place overall
1996
- Tour de France1996 Tour de FranceThe 1996 Tour de France was the 83rd Tour de France, starting on June 29 and ending on July 21, featuring 19 regular stages, 2 individual time trials, a prologue and a rest day ....
- 2nd place overall
- young rider classificationYoung rider classification in the Tour de France-History:From 1968 to 1975, there was a white jersey awarded in the Tour de France to the lead rider in the combination classification . In 1975, this classification was removed, and replaced by the Best Young Rider Classification...
- Winner stage 20
- Regio-TourRegio-TourThe Regio-Tour is a multi-stage road bicycle race held between France, Switzerland and Germany. It was first held in 1985 and since 2005 it has been organised as a 2.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour...
- Winner stage 3
1997
- Tour de France1997 Tour de FranceThe 1997 Tour de France was the 84th Tour de France, it took place July 5–27, 1997. Jan Ullrich's victory margin, of 9' 09" was the largest margin of victory since Laurent Fignon won the 1984 Tour de France by 10' 32"...
-
Winner yellow jersey - young rider classificationYoung rider classification in the Tour de France-History:From 1968 to 1975, there was a white jersey awarded in the Tour de France to the lead rider in the combination classification . In 1975, this classification was removed, and replaced by the Best Young Rider Classification...
- Winner stages 10 and 12
-
- National Road Race Champion
- Luk Cup, à Bühl
- HEW Cyclassics
- Tour de SuisseTour de SuisseThe Tour de Suisse is a UCI World Tour stage race held annually in June. The race debuted in 1933 and has evolved in timing, duration and sponsorship. With the Critérium du Dauphiné, it is a proving ground for the Tour de France, and part of the UCI World Ranking calendar...
- 3rd place overall
- Winner stage 4
1998
- Tour de France1998 Tour de FranceThe 1998 Tour de France, also called the Tour du Dopage , was marred by doping scandals throughout known as the Festina affair, starting with the arrest of Willy Voet, a soigneur in the French Festina team. Voet was traveling into France when he was arrested and found with large quantities of...
- 2nd place overall
- young rider classificationYoung rider classification in the Tour de France-History:From 1968 to 1975, there was a white jersey awarded in the Tour de France to the lead rider in the combination classification . In 1975, this classification was removed, and replaced by the Best Young Rider Classification...
- Winner stages 7, 16 and 20
- Vuelta a Castilla y LeónVuelta a Castilla y LeónThe Vuelta Ciclista a Castilla y León is a professional road bicycle stage race held in Castile and León, Spain. Since 2005, Vuelta a Castilla y León has been a part of the UCI Europe Tour.-Past winners:-External links:*...
- 3rd overall
- Rund um BerlinRund um BerlinThe Rund um Berlin was a classic cycling race which was based around the German city of Berlin. It was the oldest cycling race in Germany until it disappeared in 2000. Although it was one of the oldest races in the world, its importance was merely restricted to Germany...
- Rund um die Nürnberger AltstadtRund um die Nürnberger AltstadtRund um die Nürnberger Altstadt is an elite men's and women's professional road bicycle racing event held each September in the old town section of Nuremberg, Germany.- Women :The women's event is part of the UCI Women's Road World Cup.- Men :...
1999
World Time Trial Cycling Champion- Winner Vuelta a España
1999 Vuelta a EspañaThe 1999 Vuelta a España was the 54th Vuelta a España, taking place from September 4 starting in Murcia and finishing in Madrid on September 26, 1999. It consisted of 21 stages over 3576 km, ridden at an average speed of 39.449 km/h. The favourites were Laurent Jalabert, Alex Zülle, Jan...
- Winner stages 6 and 20
- 3rd Milano–Torino
2000
Summer Olympics Road Race Champion
Summer Olympics ITT Silver Medal- Tour de France2000 Tour de FranceThe 2000 Tour de France was the 87th Tour de France, and took place from July 1 to July 23, 2000. It was won by American cyclist Lance Armstrong. The Tour started with an individual time trial in Futuroscope and ended traditionally in Paris. The distance travelled was 3662.5 km...
- 2nd place overall
- Coppa Agostoni
- Winner stage 1 Tour de SuisseTour de SuisseThe Tour de Suisse is a UCI World Tour stage race held annually in June. The race debuted in 1933 and has evolved in timing, duration and sponsorship. With the Critérium du Dauphiné, it is a proving ground for the Tour de France, and part of the UCI World Ranking calendar...
2001
- World Time Trial Cycling Champion
- National Road Race Champion
- Tour de France2001 Tour de FranceThe 2001 Tour de France was particularly difficult, having contained a 67-km long team time trial, two individual time trials and five mountain-top finishes on consecutive days, the second of which being the Chamrousse special category climb time trial. Thus, all the high-mountain stages were...
- 2nd place overall
- Giro dell'EmiliaGiro dell'EmiliaThe Giro dell'Emilia is a late season road bicycle race held annually in Emilia-Romagna, Italy. Since 2005, the race has been organised as a 1.HC event on the UCI Europe Tour. It is considered one of the most important classic bicycle races in Italy....
- Versatel Classic
2003
- Tour de France2003 Tour de FranceThe 2003 Tour de France started and ended in Paris. Lasting from July 5 to July 27 the race covered 3,427.5 km , proceeding clockwise in twenty stages around France, including six major mountain stages...
- 2nd place overall
- Winner stage 12
- Rund um KölnRund um KölnThe Rund um Köln is a classic cycling race which is based around the German city of Cologne. Since 2005 it is part of the UCI Europe Tour, being organised as 1.1 race . It is one of the oldest cycling races still running in Germany, just after Rund um die Hainleite, which was first held in 1908...
(Tour of Cologne)
2004
- Tour de France2004 Tour de FranceThe 2004 Tour de France was the 91st, taking place from July 3 to July 25, 2004. It consisted of 20 stages over 3391 km.Lance Armstrong became the first to win six Tours de France. Armstrong had been favored to win, his competitors seen as being German Jan Ullrich, Spaniards Roberto Heras and...
- 4th place overall
- Winner Tour de SuisseTour de SuisseThe Tour de Suisse is a UCI World Tour stage race held annually in June. The race debuted in 1933 and has evolved in timing, duration and sponsorship. With the Critérium du Dauphiné, it is a proving ground for the Tour de France, and part of the UCI World Ranking calendar...
- Winner stages 1 and 9
- Coppa SabatiniCoppa SabatiniThe Coppa Sabatini is a late season road bicycle race held annually in Province of Pisa, Italy. Since 2005, the race has been organised as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour.-Winners:...
2005
- Tour de France2005 Tour de FranceThe 2005 Tour de France was the 92nd Tour de France, taking place from July 2 to July 24, 2005. It comprised 21 stages over 3592.5 km, the winner's average speed was 41.654 km/h. The first stages were held in the département of the Vendée, for the third time in 12 years. The 2005 Tour was...
- 3rd place overall
- Tour de Suisse
- 3rd place overall
- Winner stage 2
- Deutschland Tour: 2nd place overall
- Winner stage 8
2006
- Winner Tour de Suisse
- Winner stage 9
- Giro d'Italia2006 Giro d'ItaliaThe 2006 Giro d'Italia was the 89th running of the Giro d'Italia, one of cycling's Grand Tours. It was held from 6 May to 28 May 2006, and covered , beginning in the Belgian mining town of Seraing and ending in Milan...
- Winner stage 11 (ITT)
Grand Tours overall classification results timeline
| Grand Tour | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Giro d'Italia The Giro d'Italia , also simply known as The Giro, is a long distance road bicycle racing stage race for professional cyclists held over three weeks in May/early June in and around Italy. The Giro is one of the three Grand Tours , and is part of the UCI World Ranking calendar... |
– | – | – | – | – | 52 2001 Giro d'Italia The 2001 Giro d'Italia of cycling, the 84th running of the race, was held from 19 May to 10 June 2001. It consisted of a prologue plus 21 stages with one rest days, for a total of 3,356 km, ridden at an average speed of 40.170 km/h. It was won by Gilberto Simoni.- Stages :-Jersey Progress:- General... |
– | – | – | – | WD 2006 Giro d'Italia The 2006 Giro d'Italia was the 89th running of the Giro d'Italia, one of cycling's Grand Tours. It was held from 6 May to 28 May 2006, and covered , beginning in the Belgian mining town of Seraing and ending in Milan... |
Tour de France The Tour de France is an annual bicycle race held in France and nearby countries. First staged in 1903, the race covers more than and lasts three weeks. As the best known and most prestigious of cycling's three "Grand Tours", the Tour de France attracts riders and teams from around the world. The... |
2 1996 Tour de France The 1996 Tour de France was the 83rd Tour de France, starting on June 29 and ending on July 21, featuring 19 regular stages, 2 individual time trials, a prologue and a rest day .... |
1 1997 Tour de France The 1997 Tour de France was the 84th Tour de France, it took place July 5–27, 1997. Jan Ullrich's victory margin, of 9' 09" was the largest margin of victory since Laurent Fignon won the 1984 Tour de France by 10' 32"... |
2 1998 Tour de France The 1998 Tour de France, also called the Tour du Dopage , was marred by doping scandals throughout known as the Festina affair, starting with the arrest of Willy Voet, a soigneur in the French Festina team. Voet was traveling into France when he was arrested and found with large quantities of... |
– | 2 2000 Tour de France The 2000 Tour de France was the 87th Tour de France, and took place from July 1 to July 23, 2000. It was won by American cyclist Lance Armstrong. The Tour started with an individual time trial in Futuroscope and ended traditionally in Paris. The distance travelled was 3662.5 km... |
2 2001 Tour de France The 2001 Tour de France was particularly difficult, having contained a 67-km long team time trial, two individual time trials and five mountain-top finishes on consecutive days, the second of which being the Chamrousse special category climb time trial. Thus, all the high-mountain stages were... |
– | 2 2003 Tour de France The 2003 Tour de France started and ended in Paris. Lasting from July 5 to July 27 the race covered 3,427.5 km , proceeding clockwise in twenty stages around France, including six major mountain stages... |
4 2004 Tour de France The 2004 Tour de France was the 91st, taking place from July 3 to July 25, 2004. It consisted of 20 stages over 3391 km.Lance Armstrong became the first to win six Tours de France. Armstrong had been favored to win, his competitors seen as being German Jan Ullrich, Spaniards Roberto Heras and... |
3 2005 Tour de France The 2005 Tour de France was the 92nd Tour de France, taking place from July 2 to July 24, 2005. It comprised 21 stages over 3592.5 km, the winner's average speed was 41.654 km/h. The first stages were held in the département of the Vendée, for the third time in 12 years. The 2005 Tour was... |
– |
Vuelta a España The Vuelta a España is a three-week road bicycle racing stage race that is one of the three "Grand Tours" of Europe and part of the UCI World Ranking calendar. The race lasts three weeks and attracts cyclists from around the world. The race is broken into day-long segments, called stages... |
– | – | – | 1 1999 Vuelta a España The 1999 Vuelta a España was the 54th Vuelta a España, taking place from September 4 starting in Murcia and finishing in Madrid on September 26, 1999. It consisted of 21 stages over 3576 km, ridden at an average speed of 39.449 km/h. The favourites were Laurent Jalabert, Alex Zülle, Jan... |
– | – | – | – | – | – | – |
See also
- List of doping cases in cycling
- List of sportspeople sanctioned for doping offences
External links
- Official Homepage
- Official facebook-Page
- Jan Ullrich at the Internet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...