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CYCLING

Cyclist Ullrich swears oath he didn’t dope

Former Tour de France winner Jan Ullrich on Wednesday won €340,000 in back pay after denying on oath taking drugs in the early part of 2003 before a German court in Düsseldorf.

Cyclist Ullrich swears oath he didn't dope
Photo: DPA

Ullrich ,who won the Tour in 1997, has long been suspected of doping but has vehemently denied doing so.

He won the damages from former team Coast, now defunct. The team had refused to pay some of Ullrich’s salary in the belief the rider was not clean when he joined in 2003.

“Truth has won out,” the 34-year-old Ullrich insisted afterwards.

He ended his career in February last year after being implicated in the Puerto scandal in Spain but never tested positive for any banned substance.

“I testified on oath, before God, as I am a believer,” Ullrich said according to the SID sports agency.

“What more can I do. Those who know me know I told the truth 1000 percent.” Asked if he had had personal contact with controversial Spanish doctor Eufemio Fuentes, caught up in Puerto, Ullrich insisted: “No.”

In April, he paid a “six figure” fine to end a fraud case which had dogged him since July 2006.

German prosecutors had accused him of taking performance-enhancing drugs, leading under German law to fraud charges of alleged deception of the public, sponsors and his team.

Ullrich said afterwards: “The payment of this fine is not a recognition of guilt … it allows (me) to free my family from the pressure surrounding this procedure.

“I never cheated anyone in my whole career nor did I prejudice anyone. I was always a loyal sportsman, my victories were the result of hard work and passion for my sport,” he insisted.

Under German law, Ullrich had the option to settle the matter out of court if he paid up and duly did so. After the Puerto investigation in Spain his former team T-Mobile sacked Ullrich, pre-empting his resignation.

CYCLING

Swiss rider dies after fall into ravine on Tour of Switzerland

Swiss rider Gino Maeder has died from the injuries he sustained when he plunged into a ravine during a stage of the Tour of Switzerland, his team Bahrain-Victorious said on Friday.

Swiss rider dies after fall into ravine on Tour of Switzerland

Maeder, 26, fell during a high-speed descent on the fifth stage between Fiesch and La Punt on Thursday, after an exhausting day marked by three ascents over 2,000 metres altitude.

He had been found “lifeless in the water” of a ravine below the road, “immediately resuscitated then transported to the hospital in Chur by air”, organisers said.

But the next day, “Gino lost his battle to recover from the serious injuries he sustained,” Bahrain-Victorious said in a statement.

“It is with deep sadness and heavy hearts that we must announce the passing of Gino Mäder,” his team wrote in a statement.

“On Friday June 16th, following a very serious fall during the fifth stage of the Tour de Suisse, Gino lost his fight to recover from the serious injuries he had suffered. Our entire team is devastated by this tragic accident, and our thoughts and prayers are with Gino’s family and loved ones at this incredibly difficult time.”

“Despite the best efforts of the phenomenal staff at Chur hospital, Gino couldn’t make it through this, his final and biggest challenge, and at 11:30am we said goodbye to one of the shining lights of our team,” the team said in a statement.

Maeder had enjoyed a strong start to the season, finishing fifth in the Paris-Nice race.

American rider Magnus Sheffield also fell on the same descent from Albula, during the most difficult stage of the race with multiple climbs. The Ineos-Grenadiers rider was hospitalised with “bruises and concussion,” organisers said.

On Thursday, world champion Remco Evenepoel criticised the decision to compete on such a dangerous road.

“While a summit finish would have been perfectly possible, it wasn’t a good decision to let us finish down this dangerous descent,” the Belgian wrote on Twitter.

“As riders, we should also think about the risks we take going down a mountain.”

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