Swiss lawyer explains Ullrich case delays

Jan Ullrich is going to have be patient, because it will be quite a while longer before all of the legal processes and investigations regarding his alleged doping are finished. Bernhard Welten, who is handling Swiss Olympic's investigation of the German rider, told Cyclingnews: "You cannot forget that there is a criminal action going on in Spain, where the name of Jan Ullrich was clearly mentioned as a 'client' of Dr. Fuentes.

"Further, there is a criminal investigation going on in Germany against Jan Ullrich, and it was in this procedure that the house of Jan Ullrich in Switzerland was searched and a DNA sample (saliva) was taken."

Only when the Spanish and Germans cases are ended can Welten turn to his own case concerning Ullrich. "It is obvious that I cannot yet finish my investigation if these two investigations are still going on, because it is our duty to get all important facts regarding an eventual doping offense of Jan Ullrich. Further, I have always stated that I will hand over the case to the disciplinary chamber for a decision, and that I will file a request of either no ban or a lifetime ban."

Welten further noted that he is not currently preventing Ullrich from riding. "Up to the day that I forward the file to the disciplinary chamber, Jan Ullrich is free to do whatever he wants to do. However, he returned his license in mid-October and up to now has not requested a new license."