Prosecutor expects Ullrich DNA sample soon

By Susan Westemeyer

German prosecutor Fred Apostel expects to be able to make the DNA comparison from Jan Ullrich "in the near future." Apostel confirmed the offer from Ullrich's attorneys announced yesterday, indicating the cyclist's willingness to give a DNA sample.

"We will now make an appointment," Apostel told the dpa. Ullrich's spokesman, Michael Lang, said that Ullrich was willing to travel to Konstanz, Switzerland, on the German border, and there give a saliva sample to be used to compare to the DNA in bags of blood taken in Operación Puerto. "We don't want to hurt the German taxpayers, by having Jan come to Bonn," Lang told Spöort1.de, adding that his client wanted to make the test "as quickly as possible".

Even if Ullrich completes the test quickly, the comparison will have to wait until the bags of blood in question are delivered from Spain to Germany.

Swiss authorities took a saliva DNA sample from Ullrich in September, following the search of his house. Ullrich's attorneys have asked a Swiss court to prohibit the turnover to German investigators of various documents obtained in the search. Although the DNA sample is included in this request, Ullrich's attorneys claim that they were not specifically trying to block it. Apostel called that "a contradiction," but noted, "It's not up to us to explain it."