A DNA sample taken from former Tour de France champion Jan Ullrich has been matched to blood bags seized in the Spanish doping scandal, German prosecutors said on Tuesday.
”We found nine blood samples that we were able to compare with the blood samples,” said Friedrich Apostel, the investigating prosecutor in Bonn. ”We were able to establish the identity of Ullrich.”
Ullrich retired from cycling on February 26, 10 months after his name surfaced in Operation Puerto — leading to the 1997 Tour winner being excluded from last year’s race. He has denied using any banned substances.
Earlier this year, Ullrich gave a saliva specimen to be used for a DNA comparison with a blood sample seized in the Spanish investigation. Ullrich is under investigation in Germany because of a complaint from a professor that his alleged drug use represented fraud.
Apostel said the comparison established the link ”without a doubt” and proved that Ullrich’s blood was stored in the Madrid clinic that was raided last May. Ullrich has denied contact with the clinic, and maintained his innocence of doping.
”In my whole career I have never cheated or hurt anyone,” the 33-year-old German said at his farewell news conference.
Prosecutors said the Ullrich investigation would continue and did not comment on when or if he would be charged with anything.
The Spanish probe implicated more than 50 cyclists and led to pre-race favourites Ullrich and Ivan Basso, along with seven other riders, being excluded from last year’s Tour de France.
In a brief statement posted on Ullrich’s website, the cyclist’s lawyer said he did not rule out manipulation. According to WDR television, federal criminal officers picked up the blood bags in Spain last week and compared them with Ullrich’s DNA.
”The defence will look at the expert opinion closely,” Johann Schwenn said. ”After the irregularities in the Spanish investigation and international cycling authorities, it is entirely possible the findings are the result of manipulation.”
In the Spanish probe, sports physician Eufemiano Fuentes, coach Manolo Saiz and six other suspects were arrested in Madrid in the scandal.
A Spanish judge threw the case out, ruling that he could not charge anyone because, even though doping did take place, Spain’s new anti-doping law was not in force when the case broke.
The allegations also forced two teams to dissolve when their sponsors backed out.
Ullrich, whose 1997 Tour de France set off a cycling boom in Germany, is also a five-time tour runner-up, a two-time world champion and gold medallist at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
He was a huge idol in Germany until the doping charges surfaced. The country has taken a hard line on doping, investigating several athletes on the slightest suspicion in a zero-tolerance policy.
”The findings of the Bonn district attorney’s office confirms our worst fears, but also the firm line we have taken in the fight against doing,” said Rudolf Scharping, president of the German cycling federation. — Sapa-AP