Last Wednesday (29), through an interview with the Stern website, after a press conference to promote the documentary “The Hunted” about his career in professional sport, Jan Ullrich stated that he had practiced doping before competing in the Tour of France in 1997.
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“If you wanted to follow, you had to participate. The general attitude was: if you don’t do this, how will you survive in a race? Without help, the widespread perception at the time was that it would be like going into a gunfight armed only with a knife,” said Jan Ullrich in the documentary.
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The former cyclist continued to explain: “My past weighed heavily on me. It was so big and stressful. This is also why I was a master of repression for many years. In 2006 I couldn’t speak because I didn’t want to be a traitor. I didn’t want to reveal half truths and certainly not the whole truth. The lawyers said ‘either you go out and destroy everything or you don’t say anything’. I decided on the second recommendation at the time.”
The cinematographic work, which is available on Amazon Prime, in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, reflects on the mental and physical collapse of Jan Ullrich in which for the first time he openly spoke about his experiences related to the use of illicit substances such as cocaine and alcoholic beverages.
“I was guilty and now I feel guilty. I can say with all my heart that I didn’t want to deceive anyone. I didn’t want to get ahead of the other riders. It was a different time. Cycling had a system and I ended up in it. For me it was important to start the races with equal opportunities”, reflected Jan Ullrich about the competitive moments.