Jan Ullrich speaks out 20 years later: 'Back then I could have exposed the entire sport of cycling'

On the German talk show Inas Nacht, Jan Ullrich took an in-depth look back at his cycling career and the era in which it took place. The German won the Tour de France in 1997, but came under fire in 2006 in connection with Operacion Puerto and subsequently went through a difficult and much publicised period

Just before the start of the 2006 Tour de France, Ullrich’s name surfaced in Dr. Fuentes’ files. As a result, he, along with Giro winner Ivan Basso and Francisco Mancebo, among others, was barred from competing in the Tour de France. Lance Armstrong had retired the previous year, and the race was ultimately won by Floyd Landis, who was later caught doping as well.

"I could have exposed the entire cycling world back then," Ullrich says now. So why didn't Ullrich do that? "I loved the sport too much and didn't want to drag anyone else into it. We just went along with what others were already doing," says the German.

"It was a terrible time. It destroyed me. Doping cost me ten years. But what we did back then at least led to a clean sport," said Ullrich, who still won't vouch for anyone. “But I do want to believe that everything is clean. Three weeks of high-altitude training have roughly the same effect as EPO doping back then,” he said, referring to the production of red blood cells at high altitudes.

After his active career, Ullrich himself hit a rough patch, which he has spoken about on several occasions. “It was an incredibly tough time, even tougher than the Tour de France. If you smoke nine cigarettes at once, drink two bottles of whiskey a day, and use other drugs, anyone would drop dead. Somehow, that didn’t happen to me.”

The German is doing well these days and has even started making occasional public appearances again. “I lead a good and happy life. Hell and heaven—I’ve been through it all,” he aptly sums up.