Eurosport - J.Stahl - 21/07/2006 16:42
T-Mobile sacked Jan Ullrich, their star rider of ten years, by fax for his involvement in Spain's doping probe, the rider said on his website on Friday. Ullrich, who was suspended from riding in the Tour de France, said that he was "disappointed" and that his lawyers would contest the decision.
"I am very disappointed about the fact the decision was not communicated to me personally but by T-Mobile's lawyers in a fax," Ullrich was quoted as saying. "The dismissal by T-Mobile is not acceptable for me."
"I think it's a shame that I have given so many years of good service and for all that I have done for the team, that I be seen as just a fax number."
According to German news agency SID, T-Mobile manager Olaf Ludwig confirmed that the Magenta had given the 1997 Tour de France winner the axe.
Ullrich's agent Wolfgang Strohband said on the rider's site that, "the termination is groundless."
The 32-year-old Ullrich, who has protested his innocence in the "Operacion Puerto" doping investigation, and T-Mobile are planning a meeting for next week to come to some sort of an agreement.
If an accord cannot be reached, Ullrich said he would be represented by Dr. Ulrich Theune, an attorney who promised, "The termination will not hold up."
The German rode for T-Mobile squad from 1995-2002, when it was called Telekom, then took one year riding with Bianchi in 2003, before returning to T-Mobile, where he has remained since 2004.