Jan Ullrich Announces his retirement from professional cycling
Jan Ullrich, a name long associated with resurgence of cycling as a sports in Germany, and a great fighter himself announced his retirement form the sports as professional cyclist on 26/02/07.
He had a successfull and controversial carreer spanning almost a decade.
He burst on to the field when he stood runner up in 1996 Tour De France. The following year in 1997 he went on to win the Tour and became the first ever german rider to do it.
He was regarded as the strongest rider the sports had ever seen, and was believed to dominate the sports and the Tour for coming year. But for the luck of him he was in the era of Lance Armstrong, who won the Tour De France for consecutive seven years and Ullrich had to satisfy himself with Five runner up finishes.
In 2006, he was clearly the favourite to win the Tour De France, but on the eve of the Tour, emergence of a blood doping scam in spain also surfaced his name, he was barred from participating. Later on in July 2006 he was expelled by his team T- Mobile.
He always claimed his innocence, he is still not charged with any offences and he was tired of his treatment by officials in Switzerland, spain, France and also by German media.
In 2002 he was caught with traces of amphetamines in his body, he said it must be mixed with the ecstasy tablet he took while on a visit to night club. He was dropped by his Team Telekom and served a six month ban.
He also had weight problems during his off season and his team mates complained of his arrogance.
This is what he had to say about his announcements :
I terminate today officially my active career
I thought many over my life and I think that it is time for something new; Time to dare the step into a life after the active cycle racing. I knew so many successes in this wonderful kind of sport will celebrate, now it time to place itself to new mountain groping.
Large thanks are entitled to you, dear fans, because without you my whole successes would not have been possible. You went through the beautiful and the heavy times with me, showed you me that you to me hold and have me much returned you.
"I still don't understand why I was not allowed to compete in the Tour last year,"
"My life as a cyclist collapsed that day.
"I've been painted as a criminal while I've done nothing wrong."
Ullrich said on Monday that he would continue in the sport, working as a consultant for the Austrian-based Volksbank team.
He said: "I had seven offers, including some from ProTour teams, and I'm still fit."
His acchivements :
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1997 : Tour De France winner
1999 : Tour of spain winner
2004, 2006 : tour of Switzerland winner
2000 : sydney olympic games (winner in cross country and silver medal in time trial)
1999, 2001 : Wold champion Time trial
He definitely was a worthy champion, i once watched his intense rivalary with Lance Armstrong and he lost out by a whisker largely due to a fall on time trial on wet roads.
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Sources :
http://www.janullrich.de/ (this site is in German use google langauage tools to translate)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/other_sports/cycling/6396899.stm
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/cycling/wires/
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/cycling/wires/02/26/2080.ap.cyc.ullrich.retires.0444/index.html
Jan Ullrich, A former Tour De France winner: Retires from sports
