Just after the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) issued a two-year suspension on 2010 Tour de France champion Alberto Contador for using clenbuterol, another professional cyclist received a doping ban. Retired German cyclist Jan Ullrich was also given a 2-year suspension by the CAS after the highest court for sports found him guilty of blood doping. Blood doping is a method where blood sample of the athlete is re-injected into his body to improve his performance in endurance sports just like in cycling.

Forfeiture of Titles from 2005 to 2007

The doping suspension will be imposed retroactively from August 2011 when the International Cycling Union (UCI) appealed the case. It will end on August 21, 2013. This suspension will not affect Ullrich anymore since he already retired from the sports in 2007. However, the suspension includes forfeiture of his titles from May 2005 up to February 2007. Ullrich’s third place title in the 2005 Tour de France and title in the 2006 Tour de Suisse were forfeited by the UCI.

The UCI appealed the case at CAS when the Switzerland’s Olympic committee declined responsibility for prosecuting the former Swiss-based rider. The UCI was able to gather enough evidences on the doping activities of Ullrich after his Spanish doctor was apprehended by the authorities. Dr. Eufemiano Fuentes was charged for illegal administration of performance enhancing drugs to professional athletes and used medical procedures banned by the UCI and WADA. The doctor performed blood transfusion to several pro athletes including German cyclist Ullrich.

The CAS said in a statement that Ullrich did not contend the evidences presented to the court. “CAS notes with a certain degree of surprise that Ullrich has not challenged the veracity of this evidence or any other cases for the prosecution and has simply limited his defence to procedural arguments,” they said.

The court based their decision on the volume, consistency and probative value of the evidences against the German cyclist. “The Panel came to the conclusion that Jan Ullrich engaged at least in blood doping in violation of Article 15.2 of the UCI [International Cycling Union] anti-doping rules,” the court said.

DNA Analysis Matched Ullrich’s Blood Profile

It was also found out that Ullrich contacted Dr. Fuentes and paid the doctor more than $100,000 for services not specified. The court also added that a DNA analysis of the blood bags confiscated from Dr. Fuentes matched Jan Ullrich’s profile. These blood bags were ready to be used for blood doping purposes. These evidences were gathered by the authorities during Operation Puerto Rico in 2006.

“It is established that Jan Ullrich was fully engaged with Dr. Fuentes’s doping program at least from that date,” said the court. Moreover, the court declined the motion of the UCI to impose a lifetime ban on Ullrich saying that it is not considered as the second offense of the German cyclist. He was suspended 6 months for amphetamine use in 2002.

Jan Ullrich became famous in his home country when he won a gold medal in the 2000 Sydney Olympics. He also won the title in the 1997 Tour de France.

While the UCI and WADA made 2 successful cases against doping cyclists, the US federal government failed to prove the fraud and doping charges against cycling legend, 7-time Tour de France champion and cancer advocate Lance Armstrong. The American cyclist was also accused of receiving illegal blood transfusions, used the blood boosting drug EPO and used other performance enhancing drugs.

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