BERLIN, 26 July 2006 — Former Tour de France winner Jan Ullrich met in Bonn yesterday with T-Mobile management who sacked him last week.
The German has been implicated in a Spanish doping investigation and was withdrawn ahead of this year’s Tour which ended on Sunday. He has consistently protested innocence.
T-Mobile team spokesman Christian Frommert said on yesterday: “There were talks in Bonn, the lawyers met. It was a very good and constructive meeting.
“We agreed to not comment on the content. We fixed the date for the next meeting. There is no agreement yet but it was constructive and there will be more meetings.”
He added: “(Jan’s ability to sign with another team) depends on the outcome of these meetings. He was dismissed, now it is a question of what comes out of these meetings.
“Once it is cleared up then of course other teams can make him an offer but the question is whether from a sports law point of view he can ride. That is outside of our remit.”
Earlier, in an interview with Swiss tabloid newspaper Blick, the German rider maintained his innocence and said he refused to accept his sacking.
“I do not accept the termination of my contract because in my opinion there is no reason for it,” Ullrich said. “I expected more support from the team.
“I have never cheated another rider in my whole career. That is a fact. This year I have undergone 11 unannounced doping tests in training and countless out-of-competition tests, all of which were negative.”
Ullrich also reiterated he does not plan a DNA test, saying: “I don’t have to prove my innocence. I am a professional cyclist and not a killer or a criminal.” Ullrich said he thought he could have won the Tour for the second time since 1997 this year, which made the suspension even harder to swallow at first.
