This is a gripping account of how unbearable expectation, mental and physical fragility, the effects of a complicated childhood, a morally corrupt sport and one individual – Lance Armstrong – can conspire to reroute destiny. Ullrich first returned to the bike some time before at the training camp for millionaires organised by Lance Armstrong, along with George Hincapie and Johan Bruyneel on the same island of Mallorca. "I arrived in a situation like Pantani's, almost dead", he confessed to them. Since then, the German has lost weight and looks in great shape. "There was a time when I stopped cycling, but in the last few months I've started training again and it gives me a lot of energy. Sport is my drug and I love cycling," he says. But realistically neither Ullrich or Pantani ( another rider who followed a similar fall from grace as Ullrich, ending in graver circumstances) could compete with the Armstrong phenomena whom, either on the bike or off of it, was always going to be the preferred cash cow of the TDF. Who could blame the organisers with the financial clout and resources of the USA and his celebrity status after surviving cancer. I met a modest but delighted Jan Ullrich. He arrived with his girlfriend and a couple of friends, one of whom was responsible for accompanying him on the 312 kilometre challenge he would undertake in Mallorca. Though I would have hoped to ask him more, the interview had to be kept light and easy-going at his request. However, I still saw him consistent with his past. "This is what I need in my life," he said when discussing the event. "I'm in good shape, I love cycling and all this together, I think it makes my life more interesting." It is his quiet corner . Daniel Friebe, as a host of the Cycling Podcast, is one of the most interesting spoken-word commentators on cycling and this lives up to that. Comparisons are with some of the best cycle sport books:

Jan Ullrich, a sad and lonesome tale of cycling’s best there Jan Ullrich, a sad and lonesome tale of cycling’s best there

That would be telling in other ways — Armstrong later drew out all the worse insecurities in Ullrich thanks to his seven successive Tour wins; Ullrich never won another Tour after 1997 but made the podium seven times too, finishing runner-up five times, third in 2005, and might have won his debut Tour in 1996 if he wasn’t riding for team leader Bjarne Riis. Definitive performance You drastically changed my life. You challenged me as a man,” Armstrong said in the podcast, recognising the importance of their former rivalry and now of their friendship. Now, Daniel Friebe – who has covered twenty-one editions of the Tour de France – has gone in search of the man who was said in 1997 would go on to dominate his sport for a generation, but never quite managed it. Jan Ullrich: The Best There Never Was is the first biography of Jan Ullrich, arguably the most naturally talented cyclist of his generation, and also one of the most controversial champions of the Tour de France.This has been a long time coming too — seven years, to be exact, since British cycling journalist Daniel Friebe first announced the publication of Jan Ullrich: The Best There Never Was. The title is fetching and so is the cover and it straight away ranks as one of the best books about cycling I haven’t yet finished. Never the less the book does have interest, life in the DDR and the reunification are aspects which are little known. Ironically the book springs to like whenever Armstrong appears, his drive and the power of his personality, both positive and negative are far more engaging and to give him his due he appears to genuinely like Ulrich and has stood by him, literally in some cases. Audible. The problem with this book is that Ulrich is the archetypical one dimensional sportsman. Everyone agrees he’s a nice guy but he has zero personality, no interests, not even cycling, no drive, motivation, curiosity, empathy, self awareness or it appears intelligence. Led from pillar to post, he fell into doping because everyone else was doing it and one can’t help feel sympathy for someone who appears unsuited for almost any adult life, let alone the pressures of professional sport at an extremely turbulent time. He very much comes across as the victim of circumstances and his own inability to cope. After various bar jobs, I managed to get my way into Cycling Weekly in late February of 2020 where I mostly write about racing and everything around that as it's what I specialise in but don't be surprised to see my name on other news stories. From 1st July 2021, VAT will be applicable to those EU countries where VAT is applied to books - this additional charge will be collected by Fed Ex (or the Royal Mail) at the time of delivery. Shipments to the USA & Canada:

Jan Ullrich by Daniel Friebe | Waterstones

Cycling is good for you. Hang out with friends. Love. My children. My family. I had forgotten all that. That was my problem,” Ullrich said. I stopped (drinking) alcohol and stopped drugs three years ago. Now I live very healthy, my girlfriend cooks very healthy for me. This brought me to a good shape and a good feeling.” Perhaps Friebe’s greatest achievement is capturing the elusive cyclist, and explaining his mystery, without breaking it. Even though he discusses the less attractive details of Ullrich, you never lose a sense of connectedness with ‘Der Jan’. And perhaps that’s the core of this book. It is both a fine work of journalism, but also respectful. Ullirch and Armstrong went riding together in Mallorca, with the Texan posting photographs and video on his social media. Armstrong, who recently turned 50, claimed he suffered, while Ullrich joked he had only been riding for a few weeks. Now, Daniel Friebe - who has covered twenty-one editions of the Tour de France - has gone in search of the man who was said in 1997 would go on to dominate his sport for a generation, but never quite managed it.If you're coming to Coles by car, why not take advantage of the 2 hours free parking at Sainsbury's Pioneer Square - just follow the signs for Pioneer Square as you drive into Bicester and park in the multi-storey car park above the supermarket. Come down the travelators, exit Sainsbury's, turn right and follow the pedestrianised walkway to Crown Walk and turn right - and Coles will be right in front of you. You don't need to shop in Sainsbury's to get the free parking! Where to Find Us I watch all the cycling races," he tells me. "My favourite riders are Peter Sagan, Alejandro Valverde, Julian Alaphilippe and Tadej Pogacar. But above them all there is Miguel Indurain. He is my hero”. Could it have been reversed in Ullrich’s favour, if the same ‘assistance’ was available?, this book appears to suggest it was a possibility. The long awaited biography of Jan Ullrich by the eloquent and knowledgeable Daniel Friebe does not disappoint. Friebe is one the presenters of the Cycling Podcast and has been working as a journalist in cycling for two decades. As a veteran reporter on the Tour caravan, a polyglot, and an avid speed golf player he turned out to be the best biographer we could have wished for. He moved to Germany, and properly learned German to write this book.

Jan Ullrich is doing well again, according to former sports Jan Ullrich is doing well again, according to former sports

Tyler Hamilton’s drugs confession: the Fuentes passage has all the drama of the tell-all autobiographies, and familiar grappling with moral complexities. In Mallorca, I had the opportunity to interview him. Since I didn’t live through his glorious years or his decline, it was the recent past that had shaped my opinion of him. To avoid going to the interview full of judgement, I spoke to those who lived through his glorious days of cycling, from near or far, to get a more balanced and complete view of his character before our meeting. Friebe’s own ghost-written Cavendish autobiographies. There the achievement was to give an authentic voice - sometimes it really sounded like a Cav interview recounting a sprint finish. Here it’s more complex: a revealing and sympathetic portrait of a man who does not articulate well, and did not speak to the author at all. This is a gripping account of how unbearable expectation, mental and physical fragility, the effects of a complicated childhood, a morally corrupt sport and one individual - Lance Armstrong - can conspire to reroute destiny. August 29th 1993; and whilst I’m aware of and impressed by a young Lance stunning us all by winning the Elite Worlds on a horrible day in Oslo, the German guy who won the amateur race didn’t register with me. But by the ‘94 Worlds when said young German fellow took Worlds individual time trial bronze, behind ‘chronoman supreme,’ Chris Boardman I remember thinking; ‘Jan Ullrich, now there’s a name to watch.’

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A fortnight out from the start of the 2022 Tour de France in Copenhagen, Friebe’s substantial-sized work is neatly timed — also coming as it does now 25 years after Ullrich became the first and last German to win the Tour, his victory margin in 1997 of nine minutes and nine seconds not surpassed since. Nor indeed was Ullrich’s own career high. It is not easy as a journalist to talk about a character like Ullrich without it being understood as an apology for his past. Having compassion towards him does not free him from his sins as a cyclist, but a hand is extended to him so that he can return to life as a person. That’s a path that he has begun to rebuild with his family, whom he had abandoned for years, to continue with cycling and, as I understand, to finish with an improved public opinion. It is in Mallorca where Ullrich found redemption from his past life. He was saved, filled with calm and returned to the quiet corner. Though he likes to talk about cycling, he doesn't miss anything from his professional career. "Nope, nope, nothing,” he says.

Jan Ullrich: The Best There Never Was by Daniel Friebe Jan Ullrich: The Best There Never Was by Daniel Friebe

Lance Armstrong flew to Europe in August of 2018 to try to help Ullrich after he was arrested and then admitted to a psychiatric hospital. Of course all of this was played out in the midst of some of the biggest drug infringements in the Tour’s history, to the point that the Tour was no longer functioning as a sporting event. No one who rode in this period escaped suspicion and/or prosecution and history has revealed both Ullrich and Armstrong as drug cheats. The only disappointment is I was left empty by the fact that Jan declined to be interviewed, which really just mirrors the disappointment I repeatedly felt when discovering the number of times Jan could have chosen a different path, and the emptiness I feel that he seems to still be turning the cranks with a dropped chain. Ullrich admitted that he had lost sight of what helped him feel good, with only a better lifestyle, a new relationship and regular cycling helping him move on from his addiction problems.Ullrich had recovered from his addiction and was living with his new girlfriend on the Spanish island of Mallorca where he rode his longest rider since Milan-San Remo 1997 on October 24, 2021. Given this period of cycling history it naturally plays out against Ullrich’s complete and utter denial of having anything whatsoever to do with doping, nor did his Team Telekom, later T-Mobile, other than giving that sense the only crime in doping was getting caught.