Swiss continue Ullrich investigation

By Susan Westemeyer

Jan Ullrich may have turned in his Swiss license and denied that the Swiss cycling federation has any jurisdiction over him, but that is not changing anything. The Swiss doping commission is continuing its investigation of Ullrich, but a decision to press any possible charges will not be made until after the first of the year, Swiss official Bernhard Welten told the German press agency sid. The reason for the delay is that officials in Germany and Spain have said that they will forward further documents in January. Only then can the dossier be passed on to the Swiss Olympic Disciplinary Committee, which will decide whether to open hearings. Welten said that the Doping Commission sees no reason to close the investigation.

The delay in the investigation will probably mean a further delay in Ullrich's return to cycling. His manager Wolfgang Strohband said that concrete discussions concerning Ullrich's athletic future would not be held until the legal situation has been cleared up. Strohband told the magazine Bunte that Ullrich is currently doing light training around his Swiss home. "When the legal situation has been cleared up, we won't have any problem getting a license and finding a team for Jan," he said. The cyclist himself was quoted as saying that it was now time "to go on the offensive and to attack, legally and athletically."