City Libraries, City of Gold Coast

Jan Ullrich, the best there never was, Daniel Friebe

eng

Includes bibliographical references and index

individual biography

platesillustrations

index present

non fiction

Jan Ullrich

bibliography

Daniel Friebe

the best there never was

In 1997, Jan Ullrich announced himself to the world by obliterating his rivals in the first mountain stage of the Tour de France. So awesome was his display that it sent shockwaves throughout the world of cycling and invited headlines such as L'Equipe's 'The New Giant'. He went on to become Germany's first ever Tour winner, storming to victory in that edition by almost ten minutes, a result that was greeted as an era-defining changing of the guard. Everyone agreed: Jan Ullrich was the future of cycling. He was soon also voted Germany's most popular sportsperson of all time, and his rivalry with Lance Armstrong defined the most controversial years of the Tour de France. Ullrich was a German national treasure credited with popularizing cycling in his home country. And yet - for all the acres of coverage he received throughout his career, and the interest in Ullrich as the only person who had seemed capable of knocking Armstrong off his perch - the boy from East Germany remained an enigma. Now, Daniel Friebe - who has covered 21 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