“It was incredibly difficult”
For Jan Ullrich it was “really a matter of life and death”
September 8, 2023, 10:58 a.m
Jan Ullrich’s story is one of the greatest that German sport has produced. It’s a tragic story. For the protagonist, coming to terms with his own past is emotional. And “insanely difficult.”
For Jan Ullrich, coming to terms with his past for a documentary caused huge problems. “It was incredibly difficult. There were a lot of tears and sleepless nights, I suddenly had panic attacks,” said the former Tour de France winner in Munich at the presentation of the documentary “Jan Ullrich – The Hunted”, which is available from November 28th can be seen. Ullrich wants to deal with everything “openly and honestly”. According to his own statement, he wants the “viewers to be able to empathize with him.”
In Munich he also reported on private problems with alcohol and drugs. “Five years ago I had my huge crash, it was really a matter of life and death, I lost almost everything, including almost my life,” said Ullrich, who was only ready for the documentation afterwards. “The decisive point was this crash, I fought my way out of it with the last of my strength and help.” Ullrich previously suppressed everything. “I couldn’t bear my past myself,” he admitted.
With his Tour victory in 1997, Ullrich triggered a cycling boom in Germany. In 2006, the Sydney Olympic champion was suspended from his team shortly before the start of the Tour of France because he had connections to doping doctor Eufemiano Fuentes. The International Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas) banned Ullrich for two years in 2012.
Ullrich often denied doping allegations with the sentence: “I never cheated on anyone.” But he is now hinting at a comprehensive doping confession. “The fact that I didn’t cheat anyone was wrong. For me it was aimed at my opponents, but of course the fans are also part of it,” he said in the documentary.