Infamous Tour de France winner admits doping and reveals cocaine and alcohol turned him ‘into a monster’
A FORMER Tour de France champion will next week explain the full scale of his doping exploits during his cycling career.
Jan Ullrich – who wore the Yellow Jersey in the final stage in Paris in 1997 – opens up on his indiscretions in a new documentary about his life that is released on November 28.
The German has long been a controversial figure in the sport given his connections to the Spanish doping doctor Eufemiano Fuentes.
And he was barred from riding in cycling’s premier event in 2006 amid speculation he had doped.
In 2012, he was found guilty of doping and banned for two years by the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Switzerland.
To promote his new film, the 49-year-old told a news conference, “yes, I did dope”, before adding: “If I had told my story, I would have had many wonderful years.
“But I didn’t have the courage. Now it feels good to admit my guilt.
“Almost everyone took performance-enhancing substances back then. I didn’t take anything that the others didn’t take.
“For me, cheating starts when I gain an advantage. That wasn’t the case. I wanted to ensure equal opportunities.
“I was guilty and now I feel guilty. I can say with all my heart that I did not want to deceive anyone. I didn’t want to get ahead of the other riders.
“It was just a different time then. Cycling had a system and I ended up in that. For me it was important to start the races with equal opportunities.”
Lance Armstrong had his seven Tour triumphs stripped for systematic drug-taking but it is not known what will happen to Ullrich’s success 26 years ago.
Ullrich – who rode for Team Telekom and T-Mobile – finished second in the Tour on five occasions, including three times behind the disgraced American rider.
He admitted that he was not “far from death” while he was abusing drugs.
He told German outlet Stern: “The mix of whiskey and cocaine made my heart colder. It brings up all the evil qualities in you.
“It turns you into a monster in a very short time. If you no longer have a heart, you are no longer human.”
In 2017, he was convicted of drunk driving following an accident in 2014 in which two people were injured.
The following year, Ullrich was arrested in Mallorca for breaking into his neighbour’s home and threatening him.
As a result, he was issued with a restraining order by a Palma court.
Ullrich was admitted to a Swiss clinic in 2021 after relapsing into alcoholism, according to German outlet Bild.