ULLRICH BREAKS SILENCE

After a year out of the spotlight following his retirement last February, Jan Ullrich has given his first interview in 12 months exclusively to Cycle Sport magazine.

The former Tour de France winner agreed to be interviewed about his relationship with Lance Armstrong as part of the April 2008 issue's 'Lance Legacy' feature. He revealed that he missed Armstrong's influence on the sport.

"I have certainly missed Lance. For me, there were only sad eyes when Lance said goodbye," Ullrich told Cycle Sport. "I always wanted to beat the best, so I always wanted to beat him."

Ullrich retired from professional cycling following his involvement in the Operacion Puerto doping investigation in Spain, which erupted just before the 2006 Tour de France. Since announcing his retirement he has not spoken to the media... until now.

You can read the full interview with Jan Ullrich in Cycle Sport April 2008 issue, which goes on sale from Thursday in WHSmith, major supermarkets and all good newsagents priced £4.95. The issue includes a Legends of the Tour de France: Lance Armstrong double DVD.

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Cycle Sport website: www.cyclesport.co.uk.