Former Tour de France winner Jan Ullrich has signed a three-year contract with the Coast team.

The German ex-Telekom rider is suspended from competition until 23 March because he tested positive for amphetamines last June.

But he will then resume his career with the Essen-based squad, where he is expected to be joined by his old sporting director, Rudy Pevenage, who recently ended his eight-year association with Telekom.

Ullrich had been linked with CSC but their boss Bjarne Riis told BBC Sport Online last week that the German's excessive wage demands had wrecked the deal.

The 29-year-old Ullrich revealed last month that he nearly quit the sport after being suspended for his positive test.

He said he took the drugs in a nightclub because he was feeling depressed about a recurring knee injury.

Ullrich won the Tour de France in 1997, but has since been under the shadow of Lance Armstrong and has struggled with weight and fitness problems.