Ullrich calls it quits

Former Tour de France champion Jan Ullrich announced his retirement from cycling today.

The German, who won the sport’s most prestigious race in 1997, is without a team after being sacked by T-Mobile in June 2006 after it was alleged he was involved in a doping scandal in Spain.

Ullrich, 33, also finished second in the Tour on five occasions and was widely regarded as the main challenger to Lance Armstrong during the American’s period of dominance.