Ullrich partners with sports-clothing company

By Susan Westemeyer

Are things finally starting to go Jan Ullrich's way? He gave a voluntary DNA sample to German prosecutors last week, and has been most recently linked to Team Relax-GAM, which just signed his former teammate Oscar Sevilla. And now the German can boast a new sponsor and advertising contract, even if he still lacks a racing license for this season.

Ullrich will become the "Bionic Man" for X-Bionic sportswear, manufactured by X-Technology Research Swiss, it was announced over the weekend. The firm makes clothing for competitive athletes.

The 1997 Tour de France winner will not just be an spokesman for the company, but is also helping to develop the "Jan Ullrich Kompetenz Produkt" line of clothing. The firm is taking advantage of the cyclist's experience to create new products. "Together with us, Jan has developed sports clothing that breathes; it cools you down when you sweat and heats up when you're cold," said Professor Bodo Lambertz, director of X-Technology's research department.