CYCLING-ULLRICH/COURT Former Tour de France winner Jan Ullrich appears in Swiss court on drink driving charges

Record ID: 149204

  • Title: CYCLING-ULLRICH/COURT Former Tour de France winner Jan Ullrich appears in Swiss court on drink driving charges
  • Date: 21st July 2015
  • Summary: WEINFELDEN, SWITZERLAND (JULY 21, 2015) (REUTERS) ***WARNING CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** VARIOUS EXTERIORS OF WEINFELDEN CITY HALL WHICH HOUSES DISTRICT COURT JUDGES ARRIVING ON FOOT AND ENTERING BUILDING REPORTERS OUTSIDE / EXTERIOR OF CITY HALL POLICEMAN ENTERING BUILDING JAN ULLRICH GETTING OUT OF BACK OF CAR SIGN ULLRICH ENTERING COURT, REPORTER HEARD ASKING "HOW ARE
  • Embargoed: 5th August 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Switzerland
  • Country: Switzerland
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA981TEOZ9RWDXGVZYGX7VGWARG
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: PLEASE NOTE: THIS EDIT CONTAINS CONVERTED 4:3 MATERIAL
    Former Tour de France winner Jan Ullrich appeared in a Swiss court on Tuesday (July 21) to face drink driving charges after he caused an accident involving three cars in May 2014 which left no one injured.
    His alcohol blood level was almost three times over the drink-driving limit, according to Swiss police. He showed 1.4 grams of alcohol per litre of blood and the legal limit in Switzerland is 0.5 grams.
    "We had friends visiting from Munich and they brought several bottles of wine as a present with them," Ullrich told reporters during court break.
    "I let myself get carried away because I had thought that I didn't have any more appointments. Around 6 p.m., I don't remember anymore when exactly it was, my mobile phone reminded me of this appointment 15 minutes beforehand."
    Ullrich said "I felt fit to drive and got into the car without thinking."
    It was the 41-year-old former cyclist's second such accident.
    In 2002, he was involved in another accident in Freiburg. He was charged with drink driving in that case.
    Shortly before a verdict was expected, Ullrich said "I'm aware what this is about and what a verdict would look like if confirmed. It's a severe sentence but it was a serious, stupid mistake."
    "I fully admit that and I take full responsibility for this accident. For me, the most important thing was that no one was injured. Had there been injured people I would not have been able to enjoy life anymore."
    According to Swiss news agency SDA, the state prosecutor demands an 18-month suspended prison sentence.
    Ullrich, who retired in 2007 after also winning gold and silver medals at the Sydney 2000 Olympics, is the only German to have won the Tour de France.
    In February 2012, he was found guilty of a doping offence by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) and retroactively banned for two years from August 22, 2011.
    He was involved in the "Operation Puerto" scandal, which broke in 2006 and in which Spanish police launched raids that uncovered more than 200 code-named blood bags, some of which were linked to cyclists.
    In addition to the ban, all results after May 2005 were removed from his list of achievements.
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