His farewell from cycling is a result of the scandal that took place in Spain, few months before the beginning of the Tour; which provoked the suspension of several cyclists of different teams from participating in the event.

According to the authorities, 57 cyclists were provided with prohibited substances with the objective of increasing their performance during the Tour the France, one of the darkest moments of cycling after the Festina scandal in 1998.

The German implied in the scandal and suspended from the T-Mobile team by his supposed implication in this case; he is deficiently leaving cycling with a very sour taste in his mouth, along with an enormous resentment against sport authorities and the public, who no longer see him as an idol and are only concerned with his sporting behavior.

The retirement of Ulrich has caused professional cycling to lose another one of its great performers such as the loss of Armstrong when he retired after winning 7 Tours and now one of his closest pursuers in the squad won't make it easy for the cycling fans to choose the new prospect for the 2007 Tour the France.