In the summer of 2018, the public crash of cycling icon Jan Ullrich caused a stir not only among his fans. Video footage showed the former professional athlete confused and apparently under the influence of drugs.
After weeks of speculation about his condition and confused statements, Ullrich finally made withdrawal. On site he was visited by a former rival and now friend, American Lance Armstrong. “He didn’t know I was coming, I didn’t know where I was going,” Armstrong said in a documentary a few years ago. “We all know some crazy friends. But I hadn’t seen one in such a state,” he continued.
Now another documentary should explain how the Ullrich crash could have happened. Not only about his private 2018, but also about his doping scandals during his career. In the trailer for the Amazon Prime documentary “The Hunted”, the 49-year-old has his say. “I felt really bad too,” Ullrich’s voice can be heard in the trailer. “I took cocaine in bulk. I drank whiskey like water. Until shortly before death,” he also says, while video footage from 2018 can be seen in the trailer.
He also talks about his doping scandal. Shortly before the Tour de France began in 2006, investigations were initiated against Ullrich. The background: He is said to have doped. “Based on the documents we received from the tour direction, we think it’s impossible to continue working with Jan Ullrich, Oscar Sevilla and Rudy Pevenage for the time being,” the T-Mobile team said at the time. “The facts contradict Ullrich’s protestations of innocence so strongly that we had to act in order to be able to follow our principle of clean sport,” explained T-Mobile spokesman Stefan Wagner at the time. “20 years later you can see the mistakes you made,” says Ullrich in the new documentary.
He also explains that it is wrong that he has not cheated anyone. A sentence with weight. Because during a television appearance on the program “Beckmann” Ullrich emphasized in 2007: “I have not cheated or harmed anyone in my entire career.” It is therefore likely that in “The Hunted” he will not only talk about his private crash five years ago, but also about the doping allegations at the time.
“Jan Ullrich – The Hunted” will run on Prime Video from November 28th.
Source: “The Hunted” / “The Mirror”
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Jan Ullrich: doping, alcohol, arrest – the deep fall of the bike idol
