Jan Ullrich: The Best There Never Was

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Of course all of this was played out in the midst of some of the biggest drug infringements in the Tour’s history, to the point that the Tour was no longer functioning as a sporting event. No one who rode in this period escaped suspicion and/or prosecution and history has revealed both Ullrich and Armstrong as drug cheats.

Jan Ullrich, a sad and lonesome tale of cycling’s best there Jan Ullrich, a sad and lonesome tale of cycling’s best there

Ullirch and Armstrong went riding together in Mallorca, with the Texan posting photographs and video on his social media. Armstrong, who recently turned 50, claimed he suffered, while Ullrich joked he had only been riding for a few weeks. With a Cycling Weekly subscription you can improve your performance with our expert practical, nutritional and training tips

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The former Tour de France winner spoke about how finding friends in Armstrong and others after re-adopting a healthy lifestyle From 1st July 2021, VAT will be applicable to those EU countries where VAT is applied to books - this additional charge will be collected by Fed Ex (or the Royal Mail) at the time of delivery. Shipments to the USA & Canada: I watch all the cycling races," he tells me. "My favourite riders are Peter Sagan, Alejandro Valverde, Julian Alaphilippe and Tadej Pogacar. But above them all there is Miguel Indurain. He is my hero”. After various bar jobs, I managed to get my way into Cycling Weekly in late February of 2020 where I mostly write about racing and everything around that as it's what I specialise in but don't be surprised to see my name on other news stories. A fortnight out from the start of the 2022 Tour de France in Copenhagen, Friebe’s substantial-sized work is neatly timed — also coming as it does now 25 years after Ullrich became the first and last German to win the Tour, his victory margin in 1997 of nine minutes and nine seconds not surpassed since. Nor indeed was Ullrich’s own career high.

Jan Ullrich: I was just like Marco Pantani… nearly dead Jan Ullrich: I was just like Marco Pantani… nearly dead

I met a modest but delighted Jan Ullrich. He arrived with his girlfriend and a couple of friends, one of whom was responsible for accompanying him on the 312 kilometre challenge he would undertake in Mallorca. Though I would have hoped to ask him more, the interview had to be kept light and easy-going at his request. However, I still saw him consistent with his past. "This is what I need in my life," he said when discussing the event. "I'm in good shape, I love cycling and all this together, I think it makes my life more interesting." It is his quiet corner . Audible. The problem with this book is that Ulrich is the archetypical one dimensional sportsman. Everyone agrees he’s a nice guy but he has zero personality, no interests, not even cycling, no drive, motivation, curiosity, empathy, self awareness or it appears intelligence. Led from pillar to post, he fell into doping because everyone else was doing it and one can’t help feel sympathy for someone who appears unsuited for almost any adult life, let alone the pressures of professional sport at an extremely turbulent time. He very much comes across as the victim of circumstances and his own inability to cope.Given this period of cycling history it naturally plays out against Ullrich’s complete and utter denial of having anything whatsoever to do with doping, nor did his Team Telekom, later T-Mobile, other than giving that sense the only crime in doping was getting caught. I loved finding out in the book that Fuentes (the dodgy doctor of Operación Puerto fame) used the Hotel Diana (now Senator) in my neighbourhood for blood transfusions for many of his cyclists, including dozens of times for Ullrich. It's a small world! This is a gripping account of how unbearable expectation, mental and physical fragility, the effects of a complicated childhood, a morally corrupt sport and one individual – Lance Armstrong – can conspire to reroute destiny. Daniel Friebe takes us from the legacy of East Germany’s drugs programme to the pinnacle of pro cycling and asks: what price can you give sporting immortality? Friebe brings you on his journalistic journey interviewing those close to Ulrich, something I really enjoyed since you get to feel the interviewee's awe, regret, discomfort, even hostility at times. For example, you sense Armstrong knows Ulrich had more talent and the beating of him. Ullrich admitted that he had lost sight of what helped him feel good, with only a better lifestyle, a new relationship and regular cycling helping him move on from his addiction problems.

Jan Ullrich is doing well again, according to former sports Jan Ullrich is doing well again, according to former sports

The German says he has been training hard over the past year after recovering from a troubled period From the outset Friebe makes clear he’s not out to condemn or to judge Ullrich, his search more for the truth and maybe even some reconciliation, to understand why in Germany today Ullrich is still viewed with some sympathy or else pity, or how so many promising things went so horribly wrong.

In the recent ESPN documentary on Lance Armstrong, the Texan reveals he travelled to Mallorca to visit Ullrich in 2018 and help the rider he describes as "the most important person in my life".