Germany's 1997 Tour de France champion Jan Ullrich was today banned for six months by the German Cycling Federation (BDR) after testing positive for amphetamines.
The 28-year-old Olympic champion, who rides for the Telekom team, tested positive in an out-of-competition test on June 12th at a Bavarian rehabilitation clinic where he was recovering after a knee operation. The injury had already ruled him out of this year's Tour de France.
The ban begins on Wednesday and will run until March 23rd to take into account the two winter months.
Three days after revelations of the positive test Ullrich, runner-up four times in addition to his Tour de France victory, admitted to taking two ecstasy tablets on a night out with friends in a bid he said to deal with depression as he recovered from knee surgery.
"It was an incredibly idiotic thing to do, which is inexcusable and I take full responsibility," the East German-born rider said.
AFP