Jan Ullrich Net Worth Income Profile and Salary
(Rostock, 1973) German cyclist. Winner of the 1997 Tour de France, Olympic champion in 2000, and World Time Trial Champion in 2001, Jan Ullrich was one of the best runners in the international peloton since the late 1990s, alongside American Lance Armstrong.
Formed in the old school of East Germany, Jan Ullrich stood out for his magnificent performances in all fields, especially in the tests against the time. With its 1,83 meters of height and great physical power in the legs, few cyclists are able to follow to him when it imposes a strong and constant rhythm, and even in the great ports the best climbers, like Pantani, Virenque, or Escartín, have been Seen overcoming in more than one occasion by this German impertérrito. In addition, Ullrich has achieved most of his successes at a younger age than most cyclist champions, allowing us to think of a margin of improvement and new triumphs in the face of the 2000s.
During their childhood and adolescence Jan Ullrich militated in the cycling team of the Dinamo of Berlin, the most important of Eastern Germany, but after the German unification changed equipment and trainer, happening to develop his sport race in the western part of the country. Amateur world champion in 1993, the following year was signed by Telekom and already in his first year as a professional (1995) won the German time trial championship and a stage in Freiburg.
With little experience, its director Walter Godefroot made his debut in the Tour de France 1996, the hardest race of the international cycling calendar; Despite this, young Ullrich demonstrated his talent at the end of the second overall classification; Some specialists pointed to their enormous chances of victory not having to respect the leadership of their leader, the Danish Bjarne Riis. In any case, his performance could not be brighter for a debutante, since in addition to the second place, won the second stage against the time of the Tour and was at all times a “gregarious” luxury for Riis.
In 1997 he confirmed everything he had pointed out the previous year. After gaining victory in several minor races and being second in the Vuelta to Switzerland, it was proclaimed national champion in the test en route, arriving at the Tour in full form. In the French Grand Prix, Telekom’s leadership continued to play the part of Riis, with Ullrich as their lieutenant, but the road soon showed that the German was the strongest cyclist not only for his team but for the whole squad; His spectacular climb to Andorra, where not even Marco Pantani could hold his pace, was portentous, while a second victory in the time trial of Saint Etienne sentenced the race
The authority with which he won the Tour made then many see in him the natural successor of Miguel Induráin; Others likened him to Eddy Merckx, but they all agreed that he had enough qualities to become the Tour’s dominator in the following years.
During the winter of 1998, Ullrich had problems of being overweight – it touched about twelve kilos -, which together with an injury a month before the Tour motivated that it went to the exit of the French race far from its best form. Nevertheless, his magnificent class led him to achieve three stages and to wear the leading jersey for a few days, until a tremendous loss to Deux Alps left Pantani the final victory, relegating the German to second place. In 1999 a knee injury prevented him from participating in the Tour, but he was able to recover in time to make a great season finale in which he won the overall victory of the Tour of Spain and in two stages, The gold medal in the time trial of the World Championship.
In 2000 he returned to the Tour as one of the main candidates for the final victory, paper shared with the winner of the 99, Lance Armstrong; The duel between the two cyclists was promised intense, but the North American proved to be in better shape and hardly experienced trouble to repeat triumph. Since then, Ullrich appeared to accuse a certain inferiority complex against his great rival, a sensation that was more evident than ever during the next edition of the Tour of 2001, when once again – the third in four years – the German assumed that he would have to conform With the second podium position.
On the other hand, his performance was unbeatable in both Olympic Sydney 2000, with gold in the online test and silver in the time trial, as in the 2001 World Championships in Lisbon, where he surpassed the Colombian Santiago Botero and To the British David Millar in the fight against the time.
The 2002 season began with a bitter taste for the German cyclist for a knee injury that deprived him of participating in the Italian Giro and forced him to go through the operating room. In addition, he was the protagonist of some extradition scandals (he caused a traffic accident in Freiburg while driving under the influence of alcohol and in an anti-doping test positive for amphetamine) that did not help to straighten his professional future and, as happened in 1999, German rider waived to run the French round.
After the worst year of his career, in the early days of 2003 announced his signing by the German team Team Coast and his intention to return to the peloton with the aim of achieving triumphs in the great international rounds. Shortly after, the International Cicilista Union suspended the Team for not paying the salaries of its runners and Ullrich became leader of the equipment Bianchi.
With the firm intention of regaining his place among the elite of professional cycling, Ullrich carefully prepared his sixth participation in the Tour de France, where he certified an outstanding performance. He was able to threaten the undisputed leadership of Lance Armstrong and was one step away from preventing the American from achieving his fifth consecutive title. Finally, for the fifth time in his career, he was second on the podium of the Champs Elysees.
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