Armstrong Blasts Tour de France for Ullrich Snub

Lance Armstrong has blasted Tour de France organiser's ASO after not inviting the former top German professional cyclist and 1997 Tour de France winner to this year’s Grand Départ in Düsseldorf

Armstrong wrote on Twitter: “Rolling out the red carpet for the likes of Jalabert, Virenque, Hinault (and many others) yet not inviting Jan? Pfft. F*** ASO!”

Rolling out the red carpet for the likes of Jalabert, Virenque, Hinault (and many others) yet not inviting Jan? Pfft. Fuck ASO! https://t.co/ModUa6297c

— Lance Armstrong (@lancearmstrong) June 28, 2017

ASO have invited Laurent Jalabert, Richard Virenque and Bernard Hinault, some of these previous riders have been implicated in, or caught for doping offenses. Armstrong's tweet implicates ASO's "double standards" regarding the invitation list.

Due to doping, German cycling fans have turned their back on professional cycling over the past decade, interest in professional cycling has been at an all time low. Ullrich is a reminder to those fans of the period where it was generally accepted that doping was rife and the unwritten rule was to cover it up.

The Grand Départ in Düsseldorf is set to reverse that trend. Since the Armstrong era, professional cycling has cleaned up it's act to a zero tolerance situation, with regular testing, biological passports and cases of cyclist's careers and lives being "ruined" by being caught doping.

Ullrich's former team-mate Andreas Klöden leaked to the Greman Press earlier this year that Ullrich had "not been invited" to the Grand Départ.

Ullrich was implicated in the Operación Puerto doping scandal, and missed out on the 2006 Tour and was suspended from T-Mobile. He retired from pro cycling the following year in 2007.

Jan Ullrich will celebrate the 20th anniversary since his Tour win, by taking part in a charity ride in Bocholt, Germany.