'I didn’t want to be a traitor' - Jan Ullrich speaks up about doping silence

Former Tour de France winner Jan Ullrich has spoken about the reasons he remained silent about the doping he took part in during his career.

Ahead of the release of a documentary series on his life - from his time in cycling to his recent problems with addiction and violence - the German has been speaking to the media about his career, and specifically about doping.

Ullrich was found guilty of doping offences in 2012, after being linked with the Operación Puerto case during his career. In 2013, he admitted that he had used blood doping methods and worked with the disgraced doctor Eufemiano Fuentes.

The 49-year-old has now been speaking openly about his career, and offering a full admission of doping.

“Yes, I doped,” was his simple statement to German magazine Stern and other assembled media at a screening of the new documentary this week.

“I came into contact with it in 1995, 1996, before the Tour de France. At the time it was explained to me in a plausible way. I was not afraid. It was so obvious to me at the time,” he admitted.

“I was young and naive and came into an existing system. And that was made so palatable and indispensable to me that I decided to do it. My career would have been over if I hadn’t done it. I never felt like a criminal."

In a longer feature interview with Stern, he suggested the prevalence of doping made it both more palatable, and made riders feel like they had to cheat to keep up.

“The widespread perception at the time was that without assistance it would be like going into a gunfight armed only with a knife,” he said. “The general attitude was: how are you going to survive in a race if you don't take it? Then you ride in the peloton and you know that you are probably one of those who race for nothing.”

The German also gave insight into why he did not choose to speak candidly about doping earlier, pointing to the fear of exposing his fellow cyclists as a possible reason.

"In 2006 I wasn't able to talk because I didn't want to be a traitor," he told Stern. "I didn't want to come out with half-truths and certainly not with the whole truth.”

After his career in cycling, other problems of drug and alcohol addiction and violent transgressions derailed Ullrich’s life. The problems came to a head in 2018, when he was arrested twice, once after breaking into a neighbour’s home, and the other after he assaulted a sex worker. He was fined €7,200 for the latter offence.

With the new documentary, which is released on Amazon Prime Germany on November 28, Ullrich is expected to delve further into his doping past, recent issues, and how he is attempting to return to normal life.