The German Jan Ullrich, in the 2005 Tour. /
The German ex-cyclist came to confess to his friend Armstrong that he was following the same path to death as Pantani, but he recovered until he recently left with some friends for Cuba to celebrate his 48th birthday.
Maximum concern in the world of cycling, especially in Germany, when it transcends that the former German cyclist Jan Ullrich, one of the idols of this sport in the 90s, great rival of Lance Armstrong and symbol of a black stage related to doping, he is hospitalized after having suffered a relapse in his addictions to alcohol and drugs.
According to the newspaper Bild, Ullrich would have been hooked again on the occasion of the celebration of his 48th birthday in the company of some friends in Cuba. After falling victim to the excesses again, Ullrich would have first admitted to a hospital in Mexico and later would have been transferred to a clinic in Switzerland to begin rehabilitation again in a detoxification center.
Ullrich once again faces a drama despite the fact that it seemed that he had managed to close a very dangerous stage by rehabilitating himself three years ago in Mallorca, where he came to confess to his friend Armstrong in one of the visits of the Texan who traced the same path towards the death that marked the Italian climber Marco Pantani.
Detention in Mallorca
In August 2018, Ullich starred in a notorious incident when he was arrested in Palma de Mallorca after being accused of trespassing and threatening the actor and film director Til Schweiger. Ullrich was captured by the National Police after jumping the fence of the actor’s house and allegedly threatening him.
“Three years ago I was very bad, on the same path as Marco Pantani,” Ullrich told Armstrong, another of the clear examples of a doped cyclist and a cheater, an enemy of fair play in sport. The German even told the American that he reached a critical point, on the verge of ending his life, but that he had re-established himself.
However, relaxing, believing himself already cured and an untimely getaway with some traveling friends to enjoy his birthdays, have made him return to his darkest side. Ullrich and his colleagues went to the Caribbean to spend a few days and between parties, the ex-cyclist’s three years of sobriety ended down the drain.
According to Bild’s version, such was the lack of control of the one who was a great time trialist, double Olympic and world champion and winner of the 1997 Tour and the 1998 Vuelta a España, that on the return flight he had to make a stop in Mexico , where he was admitted to a psychiatric unit. After stabilizing him, he was referred to a specialized addiction center in Switzerland, where he will remain hospitalized until he recovers.
The former athlete from Rostock, a city in the former German Democratic Republic, was very powerful in the time trial, but despite his girth, he defended well on the mountain. In his early years he already competed for triumphs with Miguel Indurain from Navarra, the only winner of the Tour in five consecutive editions between 1991 and 1995.
Mainly linked to the Telekom, Ullrich always fought for the positions of honor in the big races. He stopped pedaling as a professional after the Puerto anti-doping operation broke out in Spain, just before the 2006 Tour de France, and officially retired in February 2007.
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