Movement in Ullrich investigations

Investigators in Bonn, Germany, may be on the verge of reaching a deal with Jan Ullrich, but anti-doping crusader Werner Franke is rejecting that possibility. "On Monday we will say how we will close the proceedings," Bonn prosecutor Fred Apostel told the dpa press agency. "The possibility of an agreement still exists." The German prosecutors are investigating Ullrich's relationship to Dr. Eufemiano Fuentes on charges of deception.

In a separate case, Ullrich and Franke are in court in Hamburg over Franke's statement that the rider paid Fuentes 35,000 euro in 2006. "My attorney has received a draft of an out-of-court settlement," he said, but noted that he had rejected the idea. "I will not agree to it. I will only make an agreement based on the truth."

Ullrich's attorney, Markus Hotze, said that, "It is correct that we have suggested to Mr. Franke's attorney that he could spare further costs by not repeating those claims about our client. The claims that he makes are, and remain, untrue."

The German cyclist, who lives in Switzerland, is also the subject of an investigation by Swiss Cycling, which issued his license. Ullrich has consistently denied having doped or cheated during his career, which began with his second place in the Tour de France 1996 behind winner Bjarne Riis.