JAN ULLRICH

JAN ULLRICH'S chances of returning to Team Telekom suffered a blow after the stable's chief and the German cyclist's sporting director failed to patch up their differences.

Team Telekom said in a statement that a meeting between team boss Walter Godefroot and Ullrich's adviser and friend Rudy Pevenage had come to nothing.

Godefroot, Pevenage and Ullrich' manager, Wolfgang Strohband, had met in Brussels to try to pave the way for Ullrich's return to the stable he rode for from 1995 to 2002 and with which he won the Tour de France in 1997.

Godefroot and Pevenage, both Belgians, had not talked to each other since Pevenage quit his job as Team Telekom's sporting director last December.

Ullrich, whose contract with Telekom was not renewed after he tested positive for ecstasy last year and was banned for six months, signed for Team Coast in January and Pevenage followed him.