Ullrich Under Pressure

Ullrich was injected with EPO (erythropoietin) according to Jef d'Hont, who worked with the retired German cyclist's Telekom team between 1992 and 1996 and revealed on Sunday he injected Ullrich with EPO during the Tour.

D'Hont's startling admissions in his recently-published book have led to a string of confessions from senior figures in the sport which have tarnished cycling's image.

And Ullrich, 33, who won the 1997 Tour de France, remains silent despite being suspected of using EPO since he was implicated in the Spanish doping investigation 'Operation Puerto' which first engulfed the sport in May 2006.

"It would be good for Jan if he also made a clean sweep of the truth. Then his conscience would be clear", d'Hont told German paper Bild am Sonntag.

Big names in cycling come out of doping closet

German cycling was rocked last Thursday when Erik Zabel, 36, a twice road race silver medallist at World Championships and a six-time winner of the Tour de France green jersey for the points classification, confessed he took erythropoietin (EPO) while competing for German team Telekom in 1996.

But former cyclist Rolf Aldag, current manager of the T-Mobile team which succeeded Telekom -- who has also confessed he had taken EPO -- agreed Ullrich must come clean.

"Whatever it is, the truth is the best. If he has only told the truth up till now, fine, but he should say what he has done," Aldag also told Bild Am Sonntag.

But Ullrich seems to disagree and his manager, Wolfgang Strohband, was staying silent on the subject. "We have nothing to say to the thing," said Strohband. "You won't hear a denial from me and a press conference is also not planned."