Former Tour de France winner Jan Ullrich believes the way cycling deals with doping abuse is better than it was during his active days. The situation is “significantly better,” said the ex-professional cyclist on the Radio Bremen talk show “3nach9”.
We have learned from “our situation,” said Ullrich, who is celebrating his 50th birthday this Saturday. Ullrich, who recently publicly admitted doping for the first time at the presentation of his Amazon documentary, also said: “I wouldn’t put my hand in the fire for it either.”
From 1998 to 2009, various doping scandals in cycling caused a lot of negative headlines. Even now there are always doubts about the performance of some top professional cyclists. Ullrich explains the top performances of some racers in the peloton with changed conditions. “The bikes have become lighter, training measures and nutrition have become significantly better,” he said.
In addition, according to Ullrich, anti-doping organizations today have “significantly more financial support.” The National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) recently confirmed that global cycling has seen a positive development in dealing with doping.
Ullrich was the only German to date to win the Tour de France in 1997.