Tour de France winner Jan Ullrich arrested for assaulting prostitute
Jan Ullrich, the former German professional road bicycle racer who won the 1997 Tour de France, has been arrested in his home country for beating up a prostitute at a hotel in Frankfurt where he was staying. The 44-year-old was allegedly involved in a dispute that turned physically violent and ended with the cycling star physically assaulting the "escort lady."
According to TMZ, the woman is said to have suffered injuries from the attack, which could mean that Ullrich faces the possibility of being slapped with an assault or attempted murder charge. Furthermore, law enforcement officials are of the belief that he was under the influence of drugs and alcohol at the time, which could spell further trouble for the cyclist.
In a statement addressing the incident, a police spokesperson told gathered media: "It seems Mr. Ullrich and an escort woman had a dispute and that he attacked her. She alerted the hotel staff and they called the police. Mr. Ullrich is still in custody."
This is the second time in less than a week that Ullrich finds himself in trouble with the law. The BBC reported that he was arrested last Friday in Majorca after he allegedly jumped over a neighbor's fence and made threats. The 44-year-old defended himself by claiming that he had only been trying to talk to his neighbor, who as it turned out, was German actor and director Til Schweiger.
Schweiger starred in Quentin Tarantino's 'Inglorious Basterds' but told the media he would not be pressing charges against his former "good friend." However, he did have a restraining order issued against Ullrich.
Following that particular incident, he had spoken to German newspaper Bild about how his separation from his wife had affected him. "The separation from Sara and distance from my children, whom I have not seen since Easter and have barely spoken to, have had a great effect on me," he said. "I have done things as a result that I very much regret."
Ullrich has bee plagued by a plethora of personal problems since retiring from cycling in 2007 and has admitted that he is receiving therapy for his problems with drug and alcohol abuse. The only German cyclist to have ever won the Tour de France, he also won gold and silver medals at the 2000 Sydney Olympics and was the primary reason behind the bicycle boom in Germany in the early part of the 21st century.
But his cycling career has not been without controversy either. He was banned from the Tour de France in 2006 amidst speculation that he had doped and was found guilty of the same by the Court of Arbitration for Sport in 2012. Though he initially denied the charges, he admitted to blood doping in 2013 and all results gained since May 2005 were removed from his Palmarès.