Jan Ullrich: The Best There Never Was

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Hi. I'm Cycling Weekly's Weekend Editor. I like writing offbeat features and eating too much bread when working out on the road at bike races. From the outset Friebe makes clear he’s not out to condemn or to judge Ullrich, his search more for the truth and maybe even some reconciliation, to understand why in Germany today Ullrich is still viewed with some sympathy or else pity, or how so many promising things went so horribly wrong. The German says he has been training hard over the past year after recovering from a troubled period

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The only disappointment is I was left empty by the fact that Jan declined to be interviewed, which really just mirrors the disappointment I repeatedly felt when discovering the number of times Jan could have chosen a different path, and the emptiness I feel that he seems to still be turning the cranks with a dropped chain. Daniel Friebe, as a host of the Cycling Podcast, is one of the most interesting spoken-word commentators on cycling and this lives up to that. Comparisons are with some of the best cycle sport books:

In 1997, Jan Ullrich announced himself to the world by obliterating his rivals at the Tour de France and becoming Germany’s first ever winner. Everyone agreed: Jan Ullrich would dominate the future of cycling. But he never quite managed it. Bike manufacturer says 'contraction of the market' following the pandemic has taken its toll on the sector

Jan Ullrich : The Best There Never Was - Google Books Jan Ullrich : The Best There Never Was - Google Books

Perhaps Friebe’s greatest achievement is capturing the elusive cyclist, and explaining his mystery, without breaking it. Even though he discusses the less attractive details of Ullrich, you never lose a sense of connectedness with ‘Der Jan’. And perhaps that’s the core of this book. It is both a fine work of journalism, but also respectful. Cycling is good for you. Hang out with friends. Love. My children. My family. I had forgotten all that. That was my problem,” Ullrich said. This is a gripping account of how unbearable expectation, mental and physical fragility, the effects of a complicated childhood, a morally corrupt sport and one individual – Lance Armstrong – can conspire to reroute destiny. Of course all of this was played out in the midst of some of the biggest drug infringements in the Tour’s history, to the point that the Tour was no longer functioning as a sporting event. No one who rode in this period escaped suspicion and/or prosecution and history has revealed both Ullrich and Armstrong as drug cheats. Audible. The problem with this book is that Ulrich is the archetypical one dimensional sportsman. Everyone agrees he’s a nice guy but he has zero personality, no interests, not even cycling, no drive, motivation, curiosity, empathy, self awareness or it appears intelligence. Led from pillar to post, he fell into doping because everyone else was doing it and one can’t help feel sympathy for someone who appears unsuited for almost any adult life, let alone the pressures of professional sport at an extremely turbulent time. He very much comes across as the victim of circumstances and his own inability to cope.Before joining Cycling Weekly I worked at The Tab and I've also written for Vice, Time Out, and worked freelance for The Telegraph (I know, but I needed the money at the time so let me live). I met a modest but delighted Jan Ullrich. He arrived with his girlfriend and a couple of friends, one of whom was responsible for accompanying him on the 312 kilometre challenge he would undertake in Mallorca. Though I would have hoped to ask him more, the interview had to be kept light and easy-going at his request. However, I still saw him consistent with his past. "This is what I need in my life," he said when discussing the event. "I'm in good shape, I love cycling and all this together, I think it makes my life more interesting." It is his quiet corner . Though he likes to talk about cycling, he doesn't miss anything from his professional career. "Nope, nope, nothing,” he says. Think of Tyler Hamilton’s The Secret Race, Thomas Dekker’s The Descent, or Racing Through The Dark, The Fall and Rise of David Millar, only what sets Ullrich’s story apart is the level and extent of sabotage and self-destruction that he piled on to his undeniably innate talent, starting with his piling on the weight in the off-season. Could it have been reversed in Ullrich’s favour, if the same ‘assistance’ was available?, this book appears to suggest it was a possibility.

Jan Ullrich, a sad and lonesome tale of cycling’s best there Jan Ullrich, a sad and lonesome tale of cycling’s best there

Pevenage recently released his autobiography, which discussed his involvement with Ullrich and his doping, with friends of the former Team Telekom rider apparently calling him up to verbally abuse him over the book. The German was admitted to hospital in Mexico a couple of weeks ago, with reports suggesting he had relapsed in his drug and alcohol addiction The 48-year-old was reported by the newspaper Bild to have been in Cuba, celebrating his birthday with friends. It is reported that he was admitted to hospital following a layover in Mexico, en route home, and was later transferred to a Swiss clinic for therapy.

This is a gripping account of how unbearable expectation, mental and physical fragility, the effects of a complicated childhood, a morally corrupt sport and one individual – Lance Armstrong – can conspire to reroute destiny. Daniel Friebe takes us from the legacy of East Germany’s drugs programme to the pinnacle of pro cycling and asks: what price can you give sporting immortality? It is not easy as a journalist to talk about a character like Ullrich without it being understood as an apology for his past. Having compassion towards him does not free him from his sins as a cyclist, but a hand is extended to him so that he can return to life as a person. That’s a path that he has begun to rebuild with his family, whom he had abandoned for years, to continue with cycling and, as I understand, to finish with an improved public opinion. It is in Mallorca where Ullrich found redemption from his past life. He was saved, filled with calm and returned to the quiet corner. Tyler Hamilton’s drugs confession: the Fuentes passage has all the drama of the tell-all autobiographies, and familiar grappling with moral complexities. I loved finding out in the book that Fuentes (the dodgy doctor of Operación Puerto fame) used the Hotel Diana (now Senator) in my neighbourhood for blood transfusions for many of his cyclists, including dozens of times for Ullrich. It's a small world! Ullrich had recovered from his addiction and was living with his new girlfriend on the Spanish island of Mallorca where he rode his longest rider since Milan-San Remo 1997 on October 24, 2021.

Jan Ullrich by Daniel Friebe | Waterstones Jan Ullrich by Daniel Friebe | Waterstones

Beautiful writing, well researched and brilliantly balanced. I think Daniel wrestled with this one, I'm glad he did. Never the less the book does have interest, life in the DDR and the reunification are aspects which are little known. Ironically the book springs to like whenever Armstrong appears, his drive and the power of his personality, both positive and negative are far more engaging and to give him his due he appears to genuinely like Ulrich and has stood by him, literally in some cases.The criminal trial for the murder of cyclist Moriah Wilson that has gripped the nation and cycling world alike gets underway in Austin, Texas, today. In Mallorca, I had the opportunity to interview him. Since I didn’t live through his glorious years or his decline, it was the recent past that had shaped my opinion of him. To avoid going to the interview full of judgement, I spoke to those who lived through his glorious days of cycling, from near or far, to get a more balanced and complete view of his character before our meeting. The Uruguayan poet Mario Benedetti wrote: "Do not save yourself, do not fill yourself with calm, do not set yourself aside from the world, just find a quiet corner". Both Ullrich and Armstrong were embroiled in doping scandals in the final years of their careers: and eventually banned and publicly shamed. Ullrich was caught up in the Operation Puerto blood doping investigation in Spain, while Armstrong eventually confessed to doping throughout his career after a USADA investigation and his seven Tour de France victories were wiped from the records books.