Shortly after we had finished riding for 104km over seven-odd hours around Robertson in the Western Cape on the eve of the Absa Cape Epic training camp, the news came through that Jan Ullrich had been banned for two years.

His involvement in Operation Puerto, the investigation into the blood doping scheme of Dr Eufemiano Fuentes, was found to, said the Court of Arbitration for Sport, be damning “given the volume, consistency and probative value of the evidence presented by the UCI”.

He has been banned for two years by the UCI starting from August 22, 2011, which must be devastating news to him. It means that he won’t be able to ride in the next two Cape Argus Pick n Pay Cycle Tours. I don’t know how to tell the German couple who ran the guesthouse we stayed in at Robertson. Perhaps they won’t care. They didn’t look very amused when we sprawled across their lawn beside our bikes when we got back from the ride. Nor when a certain rally driver threw some room keys in a tree whilst trying to pass them to Clayton Duckworth – a boy from the south. They did look happy when I paid cash for a post-ride recovery beer, though.

Perhaps, they wouldn’t have cared. Ullrich is yesterday’s hero, or, now, sadly, zero. I have met Ullrich once, a good few years ago when he rode the Cycle Tour. I forget the year, but he had already |retired, yet the investigation into whether he doped was raging in Europe while he was in Cape Town. At a sponsor’s function, I asked for an interview. He wasn’t keen, but I convinced his friend and minder that I’d be gentle with him. After a few warm-up questions about how much he liked Cape Town, I asked about the investigation. He gave me an answer that was a little convoluted, but essentially suggested that when the seagulls follow the trawler it was because they think |syringes will be thrown into the sea. Or something like that. I’m innocent, he said. And I wanted to believe him.

He looked a good enough bloke, liked a beer or two, and after said beers, his English improved.

This week an English journalist suggested to me that he had heard from a very good source that the last clean winner of the Tour de France before Cadel Evans was Greg LeMond. I interviewed LeMond when he came to ride the Cycle Tour. We spoke for 20 minutes, mostly about doping, and when the PR girl came to interrupt us, he told her, as he lifted his beer, that he hadn’t finished talking with me yet. I honestly hope that he wasn’t the last clean winner, but it is getting really hard to believe it, isn’t it.

Cycling, heal thyself.