Spain Could Send Cyclists' Blood Samples to Germany

"The judge in charge of the case is prepared to send the state prosecutors in Bonn a sample of blood," court spokeswoman Elisa Beni Uzabal was quoted as saying in Spanish daily Sport on Friday.

Ullrich, the 1997 Tour de France winner who would have been one of the favorites in the 2006 race, had been suspended from his T-Mobile team the day before the July 1 start of this year's tournament. The 2000 Olympic road race champion had been suspected of using the services of Eufemiano Fuentes, whom Spanish police believe is at the heart of a blood-doping network.

According to media reports, a fax which was confiscated from Dr Fuentes showed the German cyclist's full name on a list of athletes who had allegedly taken drugs. Ullrich, however, has protested his innocence and denied the doping allegations.

"At the start of September, a representative from the state prosecutors in Bonn was in Madrid and asked for samples, but at that time there was no official request to which the judge could respond," Beni Uzabal said.

Collecting evidence

Meanwhile, police raided Ullrich's Swiss home and collected his DNA samples on Wednesday as part of an international investigation.

Ullrich issued a statement on his Web site on Thursday, indicating that he had interrupted his honeymoon after finding out about the raid and returned to the town of Scherzingen, near the Swiss-German border on Lake Constance.

"My wife and I are deeply hurt by the raid and confiscation of items," Ullrich wrote.

"Because of this we have interrupted our honeymoon and driven home. My attorneys are now looking into the case with state prosecutors in Bonn."

Awards and controversy

Ullrich's suspension from cycling will last as long as the investigation into his alleged involvement in the doping scandal. If found guilty, a longer ban will be handed down, and given the 32-year-old Ullrich's age, his proneness to injury and growing disillusionment with the sport, he may have contested his last tour.

This doping scandal may prove to be the final straw for a rider who has always offset his achievements with controversy.

Ullrich's collection of accolades will be remembered alongside his highly publicized battles with weight problems, a drunken driving incident and a positive doping test in 2002 after ingesting two ecstasy pills. Any positive outcome in this latest doping scandal will overshadow his entire career.

If Ullrich is to retire in ignominious circumstances, it will be a sadly fitting career end for a rider who could have been remembered as the German cyclist of the century.