Ullrich joined the Coast team in January

Former Tour de France winner Jan Ullrich's participation in this year's Tour is in doubt after he left the financially-troubled Team Coast.

"A Team Coast containing Jan Ullrich does not exist any longer," Ullrich's agent Wolfgang Strohband told the German SID sports news agency.

Coast were suspended by cycling's ruling body last week for non-payment of their riders' salaries.

Ullrich, who signed a four-year contract with the German team in January, will now need to join another team if he is to race in this year's Tour.

The German, who won the Tour de France in 1997, left Telekom in September 2002 after a dismal season during which he was sidelined by a knee injury and tested positive for amphetamines.

If fit, he is widely considered to be one of the biggest threats to American Lance Armstrong's bid for five consecutive Tour de France wins.