I almost fled to death. I would end up like Pantani, admitted cyclist Ullrich

The 1997 Tour de France winner spoke about his mental health problems with another of his former rivals, Lance Armstrong, whom he now met in Mallorca.

Forty-seven-year-old Ullrich claims that he is doing well again, and he and Armstrong went on a bike ride. Both men were tough rivals at the peak of their careers, but at a time when Ullrich was the worst mentally, the American came to Germany to support him.

“I had big problems three years ago and you came to see me. I was so glad you arrived. Like Marco Pantani – I was almost dead,” Ullrich told Armstrong in an emotional moment in his podcast “The Move”. , which was attended by another former cyclist George Hincapie and manager Johan Bruyneel.

The legendary “Pirate” Pantani was Armstrong’s and Ullrich’s rivals and in 1998 won the Giro d’Italia and the Tour de France. He later became addicted to mental illness and died in 2004 of a cocaine overdose.

Despite similar problems, Ullrich escaped this fate. “I’ve recovered and I have good friends, including you who brought me back to life. Now I’m very happy,” said Olympic and world champion Armstrong, who was helped by regular cycling. “Cycling is good for a person. It’s great to be with friends. Love. My children. Family. I forgot all about this, it was my problem,” said a native of Rostock.

In the final years of their careers, Ullrich and Armstrong were embroiled in doping scandals that irreversibly damaged their legacy. Ullrich was caught as part of Operación Puerto, a blood doping investigation in Spain. After years of suspicion, Armstrong confessed to doping throughout his career and lost all seven Tour triumphs.

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