Former Tour de France winner Jan Ullrich accused
the Swiss cycling federation on Saturday of implying that
investigations are proceeding against him in the Spanish doping
scandal.
The 1997 Tour champion said on his website that he is not a
target of the Spanish investigation and that a press release from
Swiss Cycling on Friday was misleading.
The press release said, according to the German rider's website,
that Swiss Cycling had received documents from Spanish investigators
and now had a full dossier in the ``Jan Ullrich case.''
I will defend myself against this ongoing slander campaign that
is heated up by the federation,'' Ullrich said. ``In reality, Swiss
Cycling has not opened disciplinary proceedings against Jan Ullrich.
Nor are Spanish authorities investigating him.
Ullrich was linked to a list of cyclists who allegedly had
contact with a Spanish doctor accused of running a blood-doping
clinic in Madrid. Along with eight other riders, he was excluded
from the Tour.
Two court cases have been filed against Ullrich in Germany, one
accusing him of fraud if he used performance-enhancing drugs. One
triggered the search of his Swiss residence last month by police.
On Friday, another top rider linked to the Spanish doping scandal
won a battle in his bid to race again. The Italian Olympic Committee
recommended that doping allegations against Giro d'Italia champion
Ivan Basso be dropped.