Daniel Friebe | Paperback | November 2023
Jan Ullrich: The Best There Never Was is the first biography of Jan Ullrich, arguably the most naturally talented cyclist of his generation, and also one of the most controversial champions of the Tour de France.
'Magnificent' – Matt Dickinson, The Times
'A superlative biography as well as social and sporting history' – Observer
In 1997, Jan Ullrich announced himself to the world by obliterating his rivals at the Tour de France and becoming Germany’s first ever winner. Everyone agreed: Jan Ullrich would dominate the future of cycling. But he never quite managed it.
This is a gripping account of how unbearable expectation, mental and physical fragility, the effects of a complicated childhood, a morally corrupt sport and one individual – Lance Armstrong – can conspire to reroute destiny.
Acclaimed journalist Daniel Friebe takes us from the legacy of East Germany’s drugs programme to the pinnacle of pro cycling and asks: what price are you willing to pay for immortality?
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Author Info
Daniel Friebe was born in Coventry in 1980. He is the author of Eddy Merckx: The Cannibal, Mountain High and Mountain Higher, and has collaborated with Mark Cavendish on Boy Racer, At Speed and Tour de France. Since 2016 he has been part of ITV’s Tour de France presentation team. He is also one of three co-hosts of the award-winning The Cycling Podcast. Daniel currently lives in Berlin.
