Jan Ullrich opens up about the cost of doping and why he remained silent

Former Tour de France champion Jan Ullrich has reflected on the doping culture of his generation, saying he could have revealed more about those involved at the time but chose not to because of his love for the sport.

Ullrich, who won the Tour de France in 1997, first publicly acknowledged his use of blood doping in 2013, admitting that he had undergone procedures with Spanish doctor Eufemiano Fuentes during his career.

A decade later, he spoke far more openly about his doping past around the release of the documentary Jan Ullrich – Der Gejagte (The Hunted), which examined both his career and his life after cycling. In those interviews, Ullrich went beyond his earlier admission and addressed the broader doping culture in which he had competed.

Speaking more recently on the German talk show Inas Nacht, Ullrich elaborated on his decision not to expose others in the peloton at the time.

“I could have ratted out everyone who was in the cycling world at the time. But I didn’t do it because I loved my sport too much to do so,” he said.

Ullrich also described how riders viewed doping during his career, saying its prevalence influenced their thinking.

“Everyone was doing it, not just in cycling, so we were just doing what everyone else was doing. We convinced ourselves that we weren’t doping, because if everyone’s doing it, then cycling is still all about talent,” he said.

That mindset was widespread during one of the most troubled periods in the history of professional cycling. Ullrich raced throughout an era that was later marked by a succession of doping investigations, admissions and retrospective sanctions involving some of the sport’s biggest names.

Ullrich also discussed how cycling has changed since he retired, including advances in training and sports science.

“It was a rotten time. But at least we were exposed, so we could have a clean sport. Today, we’re performing better thanks to major scientific advances. Three weeks’ altitude training has the same effect as taking EPO back then. I wouldn’t swear to it, but I like to believe that everything is clean these days,” he said.

The Operación Puerto investigation brought Ullrich’s career at the highest level to an abrupt end. He was withdrawn from the 2006 Tour de France on the eve of the race after being implicated in the investigation.

Ullrich never raced professionally again and formally announced his retirement in 2007. In 2012, the Court of Arbitration for Sport found him guilty of an anti-doping rule violation and annulled his results from May 2005 onwards.

The consequences stretched well beyond his cycling career. Ullrich has since spoken openly about the difficult years that followed, including struggles with alcohol and drugs and a long period in which his life away from cycling unravelled. In recent years, he has gradually returned to public life and spoken more candidly about both his career and what came afterwards.

Looking back on the consequences, Ullrich summed up the personal cost simply, stating:

“Doping cost me ten years.”