Udo Bölts

German champion in the road race in 1990, 1995 and 1999 Overall win Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré 1997

Udo Bölts ( born August 10, 1966 in Heltersberg ) is a retired German racing cyclist. After the end of his active career in 2003 until May 2007 he was sports director at Team Gerolsteiner.

Bölts is one of the most successful road cyclists. He was considered a fighting spirit and was often represented in breakaways. By his own admission he took in 1996 and 1997, a doping agent.

Career

His professional career began in 1989 with the team Bölts Stuttgart, from 1991, the team Team Telekom (later T-Mobile team ) emerged.

From 1992 to 2003 Bölts participated twelve times in consecutive order in the Tour de France and the race is run through each time until the end. By this he was " German record holder ," to Jens Voigt in 2009 for the twelfth time started at the tour and for the twelfth time they finished at its fifteenth participation in 2012. His best finish at the most important cycling race in the world took Bölts 1994 with a ninth place. 1996 and 1997 Bölts was an assistant of the respective Tour winner Bjarne Riis and Jan Ullrich.

Among his greatest achievements include three German road championship titles (1990, 1995, 1999 ), the victory at the Clasica San Sebastián 1996, and a success at a mountain stage of the Giro d' Italia in 1992. Particular, in 1997 he became the first and only German driver of the overall victory at the Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré. In 1997 he finished fourth in the road Cycling Championships.

Before his final season in 2003 Udo Bölts joined the team Gerolsteiner. From 2004 Bölts was in charge of a sporting director in the team and race support, team composition, competition schedules and contacts with organizers, other teams and drivers. In the 2006 Tour de France Bölts worked as an expert for ZDF.

Doping confession

As part of the doping affair Team Telekom Bölts admitted on 23 May 2007, to have begun in 1996 with the use of EPO and growth hormones in order to participate in the Tour de France 1996 can. Until 1997 he continued taking it. Previously, Bert Dietz and Christian Henn, formerly in the Team Telekom colleagues Bölts ', added the use of doping substances. As a consequence of the doping confession presented Bölts on 24 May 2007 his post as athletic director at Team Gerolsteiner available.

Jef D' hont accused, inter alia, published in April 2007 in his book Memoires van een wieler - verzorger ( Memoirs of a Cyclist carer ) the Team Telekom team of organized and systematic doping with EPO in the early 90s. Both athletes, including the Tour de France winner Bjarne Riis and Jan Ullrich, as well as doctors and officials of the team were it knowingly involved. Due to the allegations of d' Hont doping researcher Werner Franke filed a lawsuit against the responsible Freiburg doctors of Team Telekom.

Quotes

When his team captain Jan Ullrich in 1997 in the yellow jersey on the 18th stage of the Tour de France was weak in the Vosges, he fired him with the saying of " torture yourself, you pig! ". This phrase has since entered the cycling folklore.

His longtime team manager Walter Godefroot said about Bölts when he had taken almost no preparation at Ironman Hawaii: " The Bölts is so invigorating that never goes kapütt. "

Achievements

• German Champion Street
• Herald Sun Tour

• A stage Basque Country Tour
• A stage of the Giro d' Italia

• Two stages Herald Sun Tour
• Around Cologne
• 9th place Tour de France

• German Champion Street

• A stage in the Tour de Suisse
• Clasica San Sebastian

• GP Gippingen
• Dauphiné Libéré
• 4th Road World Championships

• Grand Prix de Wallonie
• A stage Euskal Bizikleta

• German Champion Street

• A stage Germany Tour

Honors

Publications

• Torture yourself, you pig. The autobiography. With Klaus D. Kullmann and Hennes Roth. Covadonga Verlag Bielefeld 2006