Ex-cycling champ Ullrich arrested for threatening film star
August 5, 2018
Disgraced former professional cyclist and Olympic champion Jan Ullrich was released from police detention in Mallorca on Saturday night after being handed a restraining order by a Spanish judge ordering him to keep away from the famous German actor Til Schweiger.
Ullrich had been arrested by Spanish National Police Friday evening in Palma, Mallorca's capital, after allegedly breaking into Schweiger's property, which abuts his own.
The German film star had been hosting a party at the moment when the ex-pro cyclist jumped a fence and then accosted and allegedly threatened Schweiger, the Diario de Mallorca reported. The German daily Bild said that a physical scuffle ensued.
Ullrich's lawyer, Wolfgang Hoppe, confirmed to the German Press Agency (DPA) on Saturday that an incident had taken place but did not provide any further details.
After spending the night in detention, Ullrich arrived at a courthouse in Palma on Saturday wearing shorts, with his torso bared and his head covered by a sheet from the nearby public hospital.
The judge ordered that Ullrich keep at least 50 meters (164 feet) away from Schweiger, the Diario de Mallorca reported.
Cyclist's run-ins with the law
Ullrich, who became the first German to win the Tour de France in 1997, admitted to blood doping in 2013 after having been found guilty of the offense the previous year.
It is not the first time that Ullrich has run into trouble with the law. Last year, a Swiss tribunal handed him a 21-month suspended prison sentence for drunk driving that resulted in an accident. Ullrich had been living in Switzerland at the time, but he subsequently moved to Mallorca, where he now leads bike tours for tourists over the island where he spent his winter months training.
Schweiger had vacationed on the Balearic Island for many years before buying a house in Palma. He is a well-known actor and director of German-language films, including Honig im Kopf (to be released in English as Head Full of Honey), and gained international recognition for his role in Quentin Tarantino's Inglorious Bastards.
Mallorca is a popular vacation destination for German tourists and home to a large German-speaking community.
cmb/aw (EFE, dpa)