MUNICH, Germany, June 22 (UPI) -- Jan Ullrich, the only German to win the Tour de France, has admitted taking performance-enhancing drugs.
In an interview with the German news magazine Focus, Ullrich denied getting any "special advantage" from his actions, Sky News reported Saturday. But he acknowledged getting chemical assistance from Dr. Eufemio Fuentes, a Spanish sports medicine specialist who has been convicted of doping charges.
Ullrich won the tour in 1997. In 2000, he took gold and silver medals at the Sydney Olympics.
"Yes I did undergo Fuentes' treatments," Ullrich told Focus. "Almost everybody back then took performance-enhancing substances. I didn't take anything which the others were not taking. For me, betrayal only begins when I gain an advantage, but that was not the case."
The Tour de France, the world's most difficulty cycling race, has been buffeted by doping scandals, including the admission by seven-time winner Lance Armstrong that he used banned substances.
