HAMBURG, Germany, Feb. 26 (UPI) -- German cyclist Jan Ullrich, who won both the Tour de France and an Olympic road race, has officially announced he is retiring from the cycling world.
While the 33-year-old said he would remain connected to the sport by working as a consultant, Ullrich told the BBC that he will end a professional cycling career that included winning the 1997 Tour de France and a 2000 Olympic race in Sydney, Australia.
During his retirement announcement Monday, Ullrich maintained his innocence in a doping scandal that forced him out of the 2006 Tour.
"Today I'm ending my career as a professional cyclist," he said. "I never once cheated as a cyclist."
Ullrich finished in the top four in all eight Tour de France races he completed.
He said that he turned several cycling offers down after finding himself at the center of an ongoing doping investigation.
"I've been painted as a criminal while I've done nothing wrong," Ullrich said.
