I missed this story earlier in the week. It is often difficult to get cycling news in the U.S., but according to this editorial over at ESPN.com a Spanish judge has thrown out the case agains Jan Ullrich from that doping scandal that prevented him from racing in the Tour de France. Apparently, there wasn't enough evidence to link Ullrich to the scandal to begin with, which all comes a little too late considering he missed his chance to race in the biggest event of the year, and cost him his job, and left him without a sponsor.
This story shows you how the media, especially in cycling-mad Europe, can run with a story and ruin someones career. Ullrich may have seen his last chance at winning the Tour again go by while he was on the sidelines. The fact that he was tried, convicted, and sentenced by the press and public before the story was fully told, says a lot. I'm sure he'll soon get a new sponsor, and a new team, and the public will welcome him back, but he's another year older, and closer to retirement.
Another good point in the article is if Ullrich, one of the sports biggest stars, is treated like this, how does Floyd Landis hope to get a fair shake? Good question.
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