Jan Ullrich fined for attack on escort

Disgraced former Tour de France winner Jan Ullrich has been fined for attacking an escort in a Frankfurt hotel room. In a statement, the state prosecutor in Frankfurt said without naming the accused that a former German professional cyclist had been fined 7,200 Euros ($7,985) on suspicion of bodily harm and attempted duress. Ullrich, 45, had been placed under investigation for having attacked and injured a 31-year-old escort in his hotel room on August 10 2018.

The former cycling star, whose career ended in ignominy in 2007 following a doping scandal, is alleged to have insulted the Congolese escort and demanded the return of a 600 Euro payment for her services. When the woman attempted to flee, he grabbed her throat and pushed her against the wall before strangling her and punching her arm, the prosecutor’s statement said.

The attack, carried out while Ullrich was under the influence of drugs and alcohol, left the Congolese woman with a haematoma and difficulties moving. The initial investigation into attempted homicide was dropped because the strangling was not strong enough to put the victim’s life in danger, the prosecutor said.

Following an apology and financial compensation from Ullrich, no further charges will be pressed.

The case marks a new low for the disgraced former cycling star. One of the riders accused as part of the Operation Puerto doping case in 2006, Ullrich retired from cycling still protesting his innocence in 2007. He was found guilty by the Court of Arbitration for Sport in 2012 and stripped of all his results since 2005. In the last year, his struggles with alcohol and drug abuse have made headlines in the press. According to German newspaper Bild on Sunday, Ullrich checked into a rehabilitation clinic in Florida in September 2018, just a month after the attack in the hotel.