Berlin – A report in a German news magazine says that former professional cyclist Jan Ullrich has for the first time admitted to blood doping.
In an interview made available ahead of publication, the 39-year-old, who won the Tour de France in 1997, admitted that he was a client of Spanish doctor Eufemiano Fuentes.
“Yes, I made use of Fuentes-treatments,” he said in the interview in Focus.
Fuentes was at the centre of a wide-ranging blood-doping scandal, which implicated several top cyclists, as well as other sportsmen.
Ullrich had earlier admitted that he was involved in cycling's doping era, but had never revealed any information.
However, he continues to deny cheating. “Nearly everybody took performance enhancing substances at the time. I took nothing that the others did not also take,” Ullrich told the magazine.
“For me, cheating only starts if I gain an advantage from it. That was not the case. I just wanted to level the playing fields.”
Ullrich, who has since retired, received a two-year suspension for his involvement with the Fuentes scandal last year. It was back-dated to August 22, 2011. – Sapa-dpa