CYCLING: Jan Ullrich will be given the benefit of the doubt by Telekom following a positive drugs test.

Ullrich tested positive during his spell in a clinic where he was recovering from a knee injury. The result will not be confirmed until a B sample is also tested.

The outcome is expected today, but, with Ullrich unable to compete, his employers will assume he did not take drugs in order to enhance his performance.

"We know that Jan Ullrich was not in training and not preparing for a competition and will presumably not compete this year," Jurgen Kindervater, company director of the team's sponsors, said. "Therefore it makes no sense to take a performance-enhancing drug."