Armstrong blasts Tour over Ullrich snub
Lance Armstrong, who was stripped of his seven Tour de France titles for doping, lashed out at race organisers on Wednesday for not inviting German former champion Jan Ullrich to Saturday's start in Dusseldorf. "Rolling out the red carpet for the likes of Jalabert, Virenque, Hinault (and many others) yet not inviting Jan? Pfft. Fuck ASO!" tweeted Armstrong, taking aim at Amaury Sport Organisation. Ullrich won the Tour in 1997, the only German winner in the race's history, but his reputation was tarnished by his involvement in the 2006 Operation Puerto scandal and he later admitted to doping during his career. Armstrong slammed the treatment of the 43-year-old Ullrich, shunned by some in his home country for his links to doping, compared to others including former drugs cheat Richard Virenque. Ullrich, the 2000 Olympic road race champion, last month resigned as sports director of a professional race in Cologne due to negative media reaction, just three days after his appointment.
