He'll be back

Germany welcomes home Ullrich

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Posted: Wednesday September 02, 1998 09:43 PM

Ullrich could not repeat his 1997 triumph but still won praise by winning three stages-two time trials and a mountain ride Alex Livesey/Allsport

BONN, Germany (CNN/SI) -- Jan Ullrich of Germany may have failed to defend his yellow jersey in this year's Tour de France but the crowds still turned out to welcome him home in Bonn on Monday.

Ullrich, who in his first tour in 1996 finished second and won in 1997 became the first German to win the tour, placed second in 1998 despite battling an extra weight problem after last year's race.

This time, the former East German had to be content with second place behind Italian Marco Pantani.

"I'm happy with my second place and the atmosphere here makes me even happier," the cyclist said at a reception in the Bonn headquarters of his team's main sponsor, Deutsche Telekom.

"Now I will rest and I will not go anywhere near a bicycle for a few days," he added.

Ullrich could not repeat his 1997 triumph but still won praise by winning three stages -- two time trials and a mountain ride.

"Jan, Germany is proud of you," read a headline in the country's biggest-selling newspaper, Bild.

Ullrich is due to take part in two World Cup races this month, on August 16 in Hamburg, and on August 23 in Zurich.

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Reuters contributed to this report.