How Jan Ullrich DESTROYED ALL in the MOST DOPED Race EVER

Jan Ullrich's edition. The 1997 Grand Boucle was the 84th edition of the race and took place from 5 to 27 July. Jan Ullrich's victory margin, of 9' 09" was the largest margin of victory since Laurent Fignon won the 1984 edition by 10' 32". Ullrich's simultaneous victories in both the general classification and the young riders' classification marked the first time the same rider had won both categories in the same race since Laurent Fignon in 1983. The points classification was won by Ullrich's team mate Erik Zabel, for the second time, and their team Team Telekom also won the team classification. The mountains classification was won by Richard Virenque for the fourth time.
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0:00:00-0:01:02 Intro
0:01:02-0:05:00 Main Favourites / Riis vs Ullrich Context
0:05:00-0:09:40 Prologue Chris Boardman
0:09:40-0:12:39 Stage 1 Mario Cipollini US Pants / Bjarne Riis Crash
0:12:39-0:13:50 Stage 2 Mario Cipollini
0:13:50-0:16:01 Stage 3 Plumelec Erik Zabel / Tony Rominger Last Race
0:16:01-0:17:20 Stage 4 Nicola Minali
0:17:20-0:18:53 Stage 5 Cedric Vasseur EPIC Solo Yellow Jersey
0:18:53-0:20:46 Stage 6 Jeroen Blijlevens / Doped Abdujaparov Show
0:20:46-0:21:54 Stage 7 Erik Zabel
0:21:54-0:23:02 Stage 8 Erik Zabel
0:23:02-0:34:55 Stage 9 Laurent Brochard / Ullrich Destroyed Riis in Azet
0:34:55-0:45:08 Stage 10 Jan Ullrich DESTROYED all in Andorra Arcalis
0:45:08-0:47:07 Stage 11 Laurent Desbiens after Outschakov Crazy Sprint
0:47:07-0:51:12 Stage 12 Jan Ullrich ITT Amazing in Saint Etienne
0:51:12-0:57:51 Stage 13 Marco Pantani Alpe D'Huez Record
0:57:51-1:08:48 Stage 14 Richard Virenque Courchevel / Festina Dope Show
1:08:48-1:12:17 Stage 15 Marco Pantani Morzine / Joux Plane
1:12:17-1:15:32 Stage 16 Cristophe Mengin / Bjarne Riis Dope Show FAILED
1:15:32-1:16:53 Stage 17 Neil Stephens / Jan Ullrich recieves his mommy
1:16:53-1:21:48 Stage 18 Didier Rous / Virenque Dope Show FAILED
1:21:48-1:23:23 Stage 19 EPIC Bart Voskamp vs Jens Heppner Fight
1:23:23-1:26:43 Stage 20 Abraham Olano ITT / EPIC Riis Throwing Bike
1:26:43-1:28:16 Stage 21 Nicola Minali / Podium / Jan Ullrich Partying

[@cyclinghighlights]

Friends, I hope you enjoy this documentary very much. We have put all our love and care into it so that you can be entertained while you learn and enjoy these absolutely hilarious races of dopers and supermen. I send you a big hug for your great support to the channel.

[@DavidStacey-tx7on]

Hope you do a video on the Little Dictators recent victory

[@nanthilrodriguez]

What is the point of these

[@r3beatty]

Thanks so very much for these. I was a young mechanic in TX at the time, and we would come into the shop early in the morning to watch these donkeys!

[@MegaMonomer]

@@nanthilrodriguez Its History. It may be a fiction story with all the epo but its still enjoyable. Like the WWE.

[@robertbankers8003]

You need to do a preview on Greg Lamond and his possible enhancing chemicals

[@FaiscaaaH]

I miss the times where the riders had to face 1h20min of Time Trial !!! Those were the best times at "le Tour"

[@cyclinghighlights]

Good times, but now sponsors and TVs are grabbing ASO by their balls.

[@r3beatty]

Twenty years from now, when all the VHS tapes of these races are gone, these videos will stand as the definitive accounts for the Golden Age of Doping. Literally writing history with these things.

[@stupidas9466]

I still have all my beta tapes from the early seventies, and they'll be fine for another 50 years.

[@angrydoggy9170]

Doping is still going on, they just have to be smarter about it.

[@jimsonjohnson3761]

I hate it. I hate cheaters. I hate that some people say if everyone can cheat then still the best will rise to the top. Which then it just becomes about money. I hate it. But goddamn. No helmets, no 15k bike. And just doped up dudes crushing climbs like they are butter is a sexy viewing pleasure.

[@PlayaBoss96]

Ullrich's legs are built out of Soviet Era East Bloc Marble

[@JakeP2013]

almost 8 hours for a stage seems INSANE compared to these days, it may be tedious but I think there should be at least one stage longer than 250k

[@alexyounghunlee]

There is not much point in making stages longer as teams will ride it easy until the end, breakaways may work hard but as long as it doesn't affect GC it will be utterly boring.

[@endokrin7897]

​@@alexyounghunleebreakaways might have a good chance, especially if they throw in some sprints and some REAL bonus money. Instead of $1,000 for a bonus sprint, make it $10,000, and we'd probably get some REAL racing.

[@jonburkhartsmeyer386]

Cycling was so much more fun to watch back then! And it would have been even better if Phil Liggett was replaced with the narrator on this documentary😂

[@fachero74]

Que buenoooo.... Ullrich has my teammate between 92-94 in Panasonic Hamburg. We all new- he will win the Tour one day. His talent was so much better and higher sattled the Pogacar, Armstrong or Vingegaard. His proportions the best - his Style the best - only Indurain can keep up. I Recall when Jan Always admired Indurain in Magazines. I told him- it was in 93- once you will be like him

[@jakobknipfer4809]

nice ulle was the greatest ever

[@72VirginsEnjoyer]

🤣🤣🤡🤡🤡🤡

[@jcop14]

"...a little pocket money for beer and prostitutes." Classic commentary!

[@gregoryrowlerson8457]

"And with his classic white cap turned backwards in the purest gangsta rap style of those times." 🤣

[@endokrin7897]

48:20

[@rcoyle518]

This video is tremendous. What they lacked in integrity, the Tours from this era sure did make up for with top drawer fireworks and chaos.

[@uptown710]

A hour and a half of amazingness. Tis a good Sunday.

[@simondillon]

I really enjoy these long format vids. Excellent footage, and the sarcastic commentary is hilarious 😂

[@shawnington]

This might be the best thing Ive ever come across on youtube. David Attenborough does cycling.

[@CalleWarfvinge]

Cannot wait for the 1998 GT recap! The strikes, Riis failing to help Ullrich, Virenque’s melodramatic lying. Would love for you to do it!

[@haroldsmith7044]

The entire Festina Fiasco alone would make that video worth the effort.

[@Avianthro]

Another fine piece of what are without doubt (in my mind at least) the best, most enjoyable cycling videos out there! Masterfully colored commentary and full of fascinating bits of detail too! Such a pleasure to watch! All others are pathetically pedantic and pedestrian by comparison!

[@richardmccaughey5928]

And how the hell do the creators of these fantastic "documentaries" escape being sued six ways from Sunday? Oh yeah. Truth is a great defence!

[@Avianthro]

@@richardmccaughey5928 Right on! "And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free." (John 8:32) Yes, it's possible the author of that was doped...depends on what you believe. Another possibility: Whoever writes this material is obviously so clever-minded that it might be a bit too daunting to try challenging him in court.

[@robertscharlow]

"pedantic and pedestrian" Well said! The world seems full of such, lately. Bland, colorless, company-line drivel. This video had me chuckling. He's just telling it like it is.

[@uptown710]

Lmaoooo “Riis arrived foaming at the mouth and trailing chocolate behind” 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 It’s insane that soooo many riders was on the works. Seriously, wtf.

[@kornum69]

everyone were!

[@haroldsmith7044]

"His podium chances had literally gone to shit." 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@Cbcw76]

They'd had 20 years of dopers in so many sports, and it was deep into Cycling from the early '80s on.

[@theparalexview785]

Hilariously snarky and informative. Probably the best commentary I've heard for this TdF. Alas, we'll never again enjoy an era when men were 50% men, 50% PEDs.

[@worldcomicsreview354]

Disqualified after it was found he had some blood in his drug system

[@autdelux]

why you miss that time its the same today just the drugs got better

[@RELENTLESSSJC]

I watched this whole video was honestly fantastic, please do the 1999 tour!

[@stevegreir23]

Brilliant documentary. A must watch! Thanks for the upload

[@gs8494]

So many great one liners, I had to watch it twice. Great work, looking forward to the next one.

[@jondoe2690]

This is the most informative, yet sarcastic documentaries on pro cycling on KZbin!

[@wraith8323]

Engagement bump, because if it turns out this years Tour was indeed DOPED theres only one channel that can do the tale justice :)

[@TheGregcellent]

This guy is the Sid Waddell of cycling videos. What a distinct turn of phrase this fella has, bloody brilliant 😆

[@DavidDudley-yy2ui]

You can be sure that Bob Rolle has watched this video too. How do they keep a straight face.

[@siegfriedetzkorn2256]

I really like the commentary illustrating on the one hand that most of those days' biking heroes were rolling pharmacies but not belittling their performance. It made come to my mind a purported quote by Jan Ullrich after Lance Armstrong had been stripped of his tour victories upon being asked whether he - Ullrich - fancied being declared a five times tour winner now. It was reported he said something along the lines of no thanks, we were all full to the brim with some stuff at that time.

[@autdelux]

same as today just the drugs got better

[@billrose2202]

I appreciate you realistic yet so cynical commentary haha

[@RadianIndustries]

Again with the 80+ minutes of Brodyquest on repeat! Great vid!

[@arichison]

Good stuff! Love the racing and seeing it again after all the years, thank you!

[@durandil]

LA's era and the 2023 edition are well-placed to be called "most doped race ever"

[@janscanulfsson9295]

Arcalis Ullrich was terrifying 😮

[@svenr.3803]

658 Watts over 13kms. Insane performance that still gives me goosebumps. Everyone was juiced up, he was just the most talented of them

[@janscanulfsson9295]

@@svenr.3803 amazing. We didn't see that version of Ullrich again. Briefly in 2003, but not as devastatingly good.

[@markbantz9699]

@@janscanulfsson9295when Armstrong showed Ulrich was toast!

[@basquat76]

In defense of us Danes. It's not like we have that many sports figures to choose from when picking sportsman of the decade. It's either a cyclist or a speedway driver or some badminton player. Slim pickings you know.

[@GeoStreber]

As a german guy who lives in Copenhagen: I can honestly say I don't know a single danish sportsman.

[@maxmeier532]

Brian laudrup. And i dont even live in denmark.@@GeoStreber

[@Dilley_G45]

Love your sense of humor

[@arichison]

Great history ! Love it, grew up with this on the tv here in the states.

[@noooollllll]

Love this style of video. Keep It up, please.

[@MrSkill_420]

Just checking in while I watch this video for the third time in a week because it is the most kino piece of long-form content I've ever seen on the internet

[@geuros]

I'm dying lol! 42:35 "... with an average power of nearly 600W on a 13 long kilometres of ascent. Ye-hes, 600W."

[@DiesUndDasOderDasDa]

'In those... >fetching< sunglasses, ...' lol! Thought that all those years! 🙂

[@whyiseconomicsimportant]

Love these videos! Amazing editing, analysis, and great sarcasm!

[@MrSkill_420]

Really love these long-form reviews of TDF's. I am a very casual fan fwiw and will soon move on to another topic that I will be sporadically interested in

[@Jonziebal]

Super entertaining video and format..! Please keep it up!!

[@jenbjokh3367]

This is the best channel ever made, like being 16 again Danish Naive still high from the 1996 tour hoping for another “miracle” now just being 3x as cynic and laughing at all the dark arts at play! What a brilliant tour this so much EPO

[@zealman79]

I always used to think big mig and olano were twins lol - man you're savage - gonna watch the rest of it during a rainy sunday arvo...

[@tehzed]

This is the best youtube channel. Looking forward to more cycling stories. Perhaps some old school highlights from Charly Gaul or Anquetil?

[@pnksmigge5324]

Man did I love this guy as a kid in the 90s, I had his Telekom team shirt and would race around pretending to be him on my bike, but yeah. Then I read Armstrongs book, still a child and thought that guy is the most awesome. I guess I was a little naive (:

[@moellerbaben]

Amazing content! Can’t wait for the Uber doped 2000s videos with the likes of Lance Bloodstrong, the unborn brother of Tyler dopeton, iban ‘only eats’ mayo, and the test subject of mother Russia Vinoukurov!

[@villedocvalle]

Vino!!

[@moellerbaben]

@@villedocvalle what a doped beast! Imagine being so full of extra blood, that you cheat the sprinters in paris

[@FullSugarBrah]

Vinokourov is from Kazakhstan not Russia

[@moellerbaben]

@@FullSugarBrah Kasakhstan got their freedom in 1991, but the beast of a doper vino is from 1973. So russian indeed

[@diphje]

@@moellerbaben That's not how that works. His nationality isn't russian. Just like people from GDR are still german...

[@matttilley8620]

This is totally off topic, but images of the already old The Devil running alongside riders in the TdF were ages ago. I think it was a recent as last year that I saw the same smelly guy running alongside the riders in a race. Does anyone know if it's the same guy? It seems impossible.

[@janscanulfsson9295]

Same German guy, Didi is in his 70s now. When he started in the 90s he had 1 Teufel costume for the 3 week tour and in the final week the riders said he was rather ripe 😣

[@youngdave1963]

very enjoyable and honestly funny!!!

[@JelleBerden]

I just love the honest take on these not so honest performances.. childhood memories and beliefs ripped in shards, but nonetheless as thrilling as it was in the nineties!

[@pet7829]

My favourite doped time in this wonderfuly doped tdf !!!

[@billpilsner2193]

ULLE !!!! ...und am Ende bleibt der Schmerz!!!

[@durianriders]

This is an EPIC edit lol. IYKYK.

[@needfoolthings]

Well, this tour was an epos!

[@Ohmloud]

The tumbnail is golden... looks like Jan Ulllriche is getting destroyed by Riiss from behind, like Jan feels in his guts that Riiss is cummimg closer and closserr to finist him off .

[@MrBiszkopty]

Yes and now cycling is absolutely clean:D What are you smoking guys

[@fickdich973]

Nobody said that, literally nobody

[@TheFettz]

Another hour long video, well, hour and a half, great stuff 😊

[@cyclinghighlights]

Lot of work but we'll enjoy make it! Thank you and enjoy!

[@1greenMitsi]

Im bingeing these vids, so good to see cyclists dope like real men and do 250+km stages with 3x 1st category climbs So nostalgic to see that chiapucci devil man fan chase the riders up the slopes, he was always on the highlight reels

[@heavymetal6910]

Out in my garage on the turbo I was engrossed in this.........more, more, more

[@tatonghudas]

"How do you beat a man on drugs if you're not on drugs?!" -Juju Pepe, 1982

[@phildurre9492]

actually ullrich didnt even attack at first, he just imposed his pace, then he realised noone could follow, so he attacked. legend!

[@danielrussell9416]

Cycling when it was about the rider with the best blood and best doping doctor. Chapeau.

[@angrydoggy9170]

Nice to see most of them wearing those safety caps.

[@lastsonofthewest2444]

"dim-witted, sweaty, doper German!" The best commentary, ever. Even my EPO blood is laughing!

[@PimpinBassie2]

Bjarne Riis blood was so 'thick' due to EPO, he needed to be woken up multiple times a night. 😱

[@uhhFez]

I dont cycle, i dont even know these people or how to even pronounce there names but this vid is awesome lol very enjoyable watch

[@didisenft]

Looking forward for 1998 Tour report :)

[@janicelgo4522]

Still the best races.

[@gasolinewine801]

I find it amusing nobody talks about Indurain, who obviously showed what could be accomplished with doping

[@freddyfox5002]

As a young Danish🇩🇰 lad, at the time, the doping scandals ruining my love for the sport I haven't watched TdF since Michael Rasmussen got ejected from the Tour Vinegaard's celebration have passed my street twice now, and I don't even bother going down to celebrate him

[@davidbacon2726]

Loved the commentary, hilarious. I'm giving this a thumbs up in tribute to the bald, doped Dane 😂

[@jacobs909]

Deckard Cain, you have got to get out of here!

[@Hbirdman1994]

Request for the 1991 Tour of LeMond’s dethroning by Big Mig (unless I’ve completely missed it already)

[@cyclinghighlights]

Good Tour with PDM pooping in the hotel! Future vid

[@indanekwaffles7074]

Non-pareil. Subbed.

[@TobiasHoendervangers]

While I would've appreciated the commentary to be non-cynical, I highly appreciate the time and effort you've put in making this video. It's truly a great historical record of an exciting edition. For me, these videos could do without saying 'doped' hundreds of times in 90 minutes, although that's quite the achievement in itself.

[@allan4922]

Gary Imlachs alter ego. Let the show begin.

[@EnochTheFirstProphet]

You are so entertaining & you're witty humour, always has me laughing

[@_tartaros_9997]

the sprint of Zabel @ 14:55, he created a new word within our friends: "abgezabelt"

[@ericostling7410]

I guess one could look at the 1997 Tour as the classic competition for all the doctors. "My guinea pig can out-dope your guinea-pig..."

[@migidymarsh]

Best cycling documentary ever!

[@BadmanDNB]

Surely the most talented since Merckx. Perhaps only Van Der Poel is in his power league to a degree. For example, Wout Van Aert is a superdomestique champion as well, but cannot simply win the TDF on power like Ullrich.

[@cyclinghighlights]

Hmm... Wout Van Aert is 1,90 m tall, and Ullrich is 1,83 m. Very complicated. Also, a monster like Vingegaard is in his team, so it's impossible that Wout could compete a Grand Tour. In power probably in high climbs could reach the power of Ullrich but only for a small time i think. The thing is Ullrich could have won races like Monuments, World Championships in Road Race or 1 week tours but he wasn't.

[@BadmanDNB]

Yes. A great underachiever but that's what makes him a legend in his own right. Still, almost a double gold medalist in the Olympics. Unparalleled pure saddle sitting power.

[@herbertherb9018]

Currently Remco is most comparable with the style of Ullrich. They are all smaller today anyway. Jonas and Tedej are also smaller than Jan.

[@RevoltingRudi]

@@cyclinghighlights i would have liked to see him in the 2006 tour. it looked like everything clicked again for him.

[@bobelliott2748]

It was the golden age of pharmasist in cycling

[@RaffaelMarx]

Big Mig was just too strong back in time I agree however....dont tell me he wasn't juiced to the socks. 88kg climbing like a chimp and "clean" yeah right

[@endokrin7897]

I finally figured it out! The narrator sounds like Darrell Hammond playing a 'British' Sean Connery in Celebrity Jeopardy! 😂🎉 kzbin.info/www/bejne/mHbKmahvZbZ9fpY

[@landscapeandmonuments1615]

Has doping in cycling stopped now? Just a side issue, the tour de france that has just finished has most stages between three and four hours only. Pro cycling has always been an endurance sport, it is not right having tour stages so reduced in km

[@cyclinghighlights]

It's the ASO politics since 1999

[@RANDOMZBOSSMAN1]

​@@cyclinghighlightsto make the tours more "humane" and reducing doping which definitely didnt happen lol Bring back the 220km mountain stages lol

[@landscapeandmonuments1615]

@@RANDOMZBOSSMAN1 i agree we need longer stages, getting to paris no longer feels so epic, i sensed that yesterday. Stages are so short now, almost like criteriums full gas short racing. At the same time, we are told the present riders are the best, at short sprint stages yes, not 8 hr brutal stages

[@RANDOMZBOSSMAN1]

@@landscapeandmonuments1615 Yup, I dont mind throwing in a 130km ultra competitive stage here and there but what happened to the epic Alpine/Pyrenees stages let the tour be great again these guys are very likely still on the thermonuclear stuff as well and theres no shortage of mountains in France!

[@landscapeandmonuments1615]

@@RANDOMZBOSSMAN1 some valid points. Then, 1 TT only and not even more than 22km is once again a sprint and not testing endurance as well as totally turning into another sport. Big epic time gaps and excitement happen after 240km of racing where its a fight just to even get through the stage. So all this constant watts per kilo 'improvement" doesnt take into account years back riders arrived more fatigued to the cols

[@lozzaheath815]

Suffering like a snail in the sun..... 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@jm5142]

If they were all dong it, and they certainly were, then it’s a level playing field. Meaning the win is still valid!

[@BlTCHEZAlNTSHlT]

this deserves so many more views

[@worldcomicsreview354]

I remember a satirical newspaper where they made an Olympics where doping (and other things) was allowed. Mr Ho Tarse of China set a time of 0.3 seconds for the 100m with his hydrogen peroxide implants (gold medal awarded posthumously to the crater)

[@Cbcw76]

Actually, I think the '80s were 'the most doped' era, leading into the early '90s when all those East German Soviet Bloc labs were losing gov't support and they fled Olympic training grounds to spread out and get into all kinds of performance enhancements, particularly the 1990 Tour De France.

[@brianosullivan4153]

Great stuff as always,brilliant tour,firstly "the legendary whoremonger" would be one of the more factual descriptions of maitre jacques,high point for me though was Virenques antics throughout,like Claudio Chiappucci without the intelligence or class,low point is definitely that we never got to see the sprinter turned climber Abdou in the mountains.

[@cyclinghighlights]

The New climber Djamomdine in 1996 was insane. If he finished in 1997 probably Would be Best climber in Lotto history today

[@brianosullivan4153]

I think during the Vosges stage Pevenage promised Banesto the last time trial in exchange for not working with Virenque

[@giovannimontanari9683]

"Virenque was like Chiappucci without the Intelligence or class" LMFAO, I am dead Also, Abdou going from sprinter to climber is the 2nd most amazing 90s transformation (1st is Bjarne from absolute nobody to GT winner)

[@brianosullivan4153]

​@@giovannimontanari9683I think he is the one cyclist in the video you can actually see the human growth hormones

[@cyclinghighlights]

@giovannimontanari9683 Abdou was amazing. Because he could DOPE climbing in short mountain passes and middle mountain stages BUT also could sprint with the best in the flat after 100 km in the breakaway. Probably Jalabert's is the 2nd most amazing 90s transformation, but Abdou is totally underrated.

[@maxam2083]

Uns Ulle!❤

[@dblissmn]

Beautiful use of British English non-rhotic ambiguity "Behind him were Festina, waiting like 'cheetahs'"

[@planepower8523]

So, this is what unlimited doping looks like. Nice to know 1997 was as doped as it assumed it was. So disheartening to watch cycling in the late 90s and onward.

[@paullee3660]

Are the comments about Chris Boardman and Gan sarcastic? I am confused, because Desbiens was fired from Gan for doping and only Moncassin and O’Grady were suspect or confessed in this period. I can’t believe that Chris doped, particularly with how things planned out in his career. I can’t see it in his character.

[@Platypus_Warrior]

It is crystal clear to me that any athlete today doing a cardio sport at a professional level is cheating with PED's. You can clearly get away with some doping unless you are Armstrong then you'll need a cocktail of several drugs for several years to risk a chance of getting caught. Anyways, it's still fun watching these mad horses on wheels braking uphill for the turn.

[@ballyp81]

1:28:03 Ullrich with SRM

[@drphibes7666]

German tech. Riis used it when he won Amstel in the same year

[@bigredactionsportsstuff1245]

I know they were all cheating, but there is an element of glory and drama in this era that is missing now that technology and optimized training has taken over.

[@deepat]

Can't wait for la lanca and La flandisimo

[@toucheturtle3840]

I miss David Duffield, his commentary was excellent. Whether he knew the riders were more doped than he was is open to speculation ?…😂

[@BillyBob-yb5ht]

Yes he doped and so did almost every ride prior to him and most subsequent too.

[@WagnazStevie]

Nice video 😂

[@JeffreyWilliams-dr7qe]

At my age I thought abject gullibility was under control.

[@starkparker16]

Voice drips with bitterness.