Tour chief backs Ullrich decision

Tour de France director Jean Marie Leblanc has congratulated T-Mobile for ousting race favourite Jan Ullrich on the eve of the competition after he was named in a doping investigation.

The 1997 winner was pulled out by his team on Frday after they were informed by UCI, the sport’s governing body, that the German rider, Spanish team-mate Oscar Sevilla and team manager Rudy Pevenage have been involved in a blood-doping probe in Spain.