German police have detained former cyclist and Tour de France champion Jan Ullrich for attacking and injuring a prostitute in a Frankfurt luxury hotel, a police spokeswoman said.
Ullrich was under the influence of alcohol and drugs when police detained him on suspicion of assault causing grievous bodily harm, the spokeswoman said.
Ullrich, 44, and the woman had an argument in the Villa Kennedy hotel in the early hours of Friday morning, the spokeswoman said. The woman was still being questioned by police and the investigation was ongoing.
Ullrich had told German Bild newspaper in an interview earlier this week that he had marriage problems and was emotionally stressed after his wife had decided to separate. He had not seen his three sons since Easter.
“I’ve done and taken things that I very much regret”, Ullrich told Bild, adding: “Out of love for my children, I’m doing therapy now.”
The 1997 Tour de France winner had just flown to Frankfurt from his home in Mallorca, where he had been involved in an altercation in the garden of his neighbour, German action film star Til Schweiger, last weekend.