Ullrich cops two-year ban

Former Tour de France winner Jan Ullrich has been found guilty of doping and banned from cycling for two years.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) banned the 38-year-old, who has retired from the sport, until August 2013 and stripped him of his third-place finish at the 2005 Tour de France.

All of the German's professional results since 2005 have also been revoked, after CAS found him guilty of a doping violation relating to the Operation Puerto scandal, which ignited when Spanish police discovered more than 200 blood bags, some of which were linked to cyclists.

Doping charges followed, with Ullrich - who won the Tour de France in 1997 - found guilty of the offence more than five years after the operation began.

'The CAS has partially upheld the appeal filed by the UCI (International Cycling Union) and has found Jan Ullrich guilty of a doping offence,' CAS said in a statement on Thursday (local time).

'As a consequence, Jan Ullrich is sanctioned with a two-year period of ineligibility starting retroactively on August 22, 2011.'

'Furthermore, all results achieved by the athlete on or after May 1, 2005, until his retirement are annulled.'

The case was only reopened after the UCI appealed against the Swiss Olympic Committee's decision to stop an investigation into Ullrich.

Speaking just before his ban became public, Ullrich jumped to the defence of banned cyclist Alberto Contador.

Contador was this week suspended from cycling for two years, retrospectively, and stripped of his 2010 Tour de France victory by the World Anti-Doping Organisation (WADA) and the UCI, cycling's world governing body.

He was given the ban after testing positive for the banned substance clenbuterol, which he claimed was due to eating contaminated meat.

Contador had his charges initially thrown out by the Spanish Cycling Federation, only for WADA and the UCI to overrule the decision recently.

'The verdict is very tough and I didn't expect this,' said Ullrich, before giving the Spaniard his best wishes in his return to the sport.

'I want to wish Alberto all the best for his comeback in August and hopefully he can confirm his success. He is a marvellous cyclist and really important for this sport.'

Contador's ban expires on August 6, ruling him out of the 2012 Tour de France, while the retired Ullrich will not be able to compete until early 2014 if he decides to return to the sport.