The sub-title of Daniel Friebe’s wonderful biography of Jan Ullrich is _The Best There Never Was_ and, in terms of pure cycling talent, there were many who considered the German to be second to none.
The Tour de France results of 2000, 2001, 2003 and 2004 say literally that – while Lance Armstrong’s wins of 1999-2005 inclusive were stricken from the record, no new winners were identified.
Ullrich’s claims to adding to his 1997 triumph suffered from his own doping issues, dramatically revealed on the eve of the 2006 Tour, when he seemed set to benefit from the absence of the retired Armstrong.
The closest that Ullrich came to breaking Armstrong’s streak of dominance came in 2003, when just over a minute separated the pair at the top of the general classification. Opportunities to seize the lead in the mountains were missed – in one case, sportingly refusing to attack after an Armstrong crash – and then, in the penultimate stage, a time-trial, in wet weather on a route he had not sufficiently researched, Ullrich suffered a costly collision.
That year was also the only one of Ullrich’s professional career where he did not wear the magenta jersey of the team sponsored by Deutsche Telekom, initially known as Team Telekom and later T-Mobile.
At the end of 2002, needing a reset after injuries, a drink-driving incident and a positive drug test for amphetamines – related to two ecstasy tablets he said he was given – Ullrich left Telekom and signed a large deal with Team Coast, sponsored by the fashion chain.
However, money problems left the team on the point of disintegration as the 2003 season began and on May 8, their licence was suspended.
Ullrich’s advisor Rudy Pevenage had moved with him from Telekom and he enlisted a former Dutch rider, Jacques Hanegraaf, to explore the possibility of another sponsor coming on board to keep the team going.
In April, Coast’s bicycle manufacturer Bianchi had released funds to keep the team afloat and it was to them that Hanegraaf went. Up until the late 1980s, Bianchi had had a team of their own, with the legendary Fausto Coppi winning the Tour de France and Giro d’Italia in the distinctive celeste jersey with white hoop.
Hanegraaf gave a presentation which included a picture of Ullrich in a Bianchi jersey and the brand’s holding company Cycleurope were impressed enough to come on board.
As Friebe described it in the book, “The team’s jersey would be a shade greener than the mock-up in Jacques Hanegraaf’s presentation and the colours worn by Coast to date in 2003, a touch bluer than the Bianchi bikes. Ullrich reckoned it was ‘on the old-school side’. That, he noted, ‘is quite in at the moment’.
However, despite the good showing in the Tour – as well as Ullrich coming second, the team placed fifth overall and Fabrizio Guidi was eighth in the points classification – Bianchi’s return as a team in its own right was a brief one as Ullrich’s return to Telekom for 2004 brought a halt to plans to build the team further.
