Oct 10, 2006
Ullrich Gets an Offer From Discovery
Tuttobiciweb reports that Discovery Channel has given a contract offer to Jan Ullrich. The contract is to make Jan Ullrich team leader for the next two years. This contract offer so far seems to have no regard for the various legal issues surrounding Der Kaiser. Ullrich may be cleared of his Operation Puerto involvement since the court proceeding need to go through another court before any of the evidence in Operation Puerto can be used to implicate any cyclist. Jan may be in the clear for the time being, but he still needs to get his Swiss racing license renewed for next year. The process may be a bit messy since Ullrich seemed to have the most evidence that showed a link with Efuaminao Fuentes and personal coach Rudy Pevenage.
This was posted today at http://www.thepaceline.com
Johan Bruyneel, in response to recent news that the Discovery Channel Team is possibly signing Jan Ullrich: “I am currently not in any negotiations with Jan Ullrich to become a part of the Discovery Channel (team). Although I believe Jan is a world-class rider, our roster for 2007 is nearly complete and Jan will not be a part of our team.”
Hey Rob,
I checked the site, but can’t find a recent comment from Bruyneel.
The article I quoted is from Tuttobiciweb from today’s edition. I know that Bruyneel has denied that they have signed Ullrich in the past, but with the recent Operation Puerto revelations, it could be a strong possibility that Ullrich is back on the market and Disco would be eager to sign him pending he is fully clear of a doping offenses.
Then again there is always rampant speculation, so Tuttobiciweb could be wrong.
Marcello