February 2, 2007 – Jan Ullrich, 32, winner of the 1997 Tour de France, gave a sample of his saliva yesterday in Germany for comparison with blood seized in the Operacion Puerto doping investigation according to an AP report.

Prosecuters involved in the case called for the critical move that could incriminate Ullrich in the doping scandal or clear him. Ullrich has been seeking a team to support him for the 2007 Tour de France since the T-Mobile Team dropped him after he was implicated in Operacion Puerto before last year’s Tour.

Earlier this week, when prosecuters wanted to use a DNA sample for the comparison, which had been taken in September, Ullrich objected, but he agreed to give a new sample yesterday in Germany.

Ullrich was one of many big hitters barred from the 2006 Tour after Spanish authorities found bags of preserved blood in a raid on a Madrid clinic in April that connected 57 cyclists to the scandal. One of the bags of frozen blood is being released for the purpose of the DNA comparison.

Tour de France officials have warned that competitors connected to Operacion Puerto may be expelled from the 2007 Tour.