 Zabel at the 2017Rund um Köln | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Erik Zabel |
| Nickname | Ete |
| Born | (1970-07-07)7 July 1970 (age 55) East Berlin, East Germany |
| Height | 1.76 m (5 ft9+1⁄2 in)[1] |
| Weight | 69 kg (152 lb; 10 st 12 lb)[1] |
| Amateur teams | |
| TSC Berlin | |
| RC Olympia Dortmund | |
| Professional teams | |
| 1993–2005 | Team Telekom |
| 2006–2008 | Team Milram |
| Managerial teams | |
| 2009–2011 | Team Columbia–High Road |
| 2012–2013 | Team Katusha |
| Major wins | |
Grand Tours
Other
| |
Medal record | |
Erik Zabel (German pronunciation:[ˈeːʁɪkˈt͡saːbl̩]ⓘ; born 7 July 1970) is a German former professionalroad bicycle racer who raced for most of his career withTeam Telekom. With 152 professional wins and 211 wins in his career, he is considered by some[2] to be one of the greatest German cyclists andcycling sprinters of all time. Zabel won a record ninepoints classifications ingrands tours including thepoints classification in the Tour de France six consecutive years between 1996 and 2001 and thepoints classification in the Vuelta a España in 2002, 2003 and 2004. Zabel won the Milan–San Remo four times and numerous six-day track events. He was one of the few road cyclists of recent times who raced all year, includingtrack cycling in winter. For season 2012 he joinedTeam Katusha as sprint coach.[3] He previously held that same position with theHTC–Highroad team until their dissolution. Zabel admitted to doping from 1996 to 2003. He is the father of cyclistRick Zabel.
Zabel grew up inEast Berlin, in the boroughMarzahn. His father Detlev was a professional cyclist. His first international success as a junior was at the track world championship when he was third in theteam pursuit on the East German team. In 1988 he was fifth in thepoints race. In 1989, as a 19-year-old, he was included in the East German national track team for professionals. That year he became national champion of East Germany in theindividual pursuit.
After theFall of the Berlin Wall he moved toDortmund and became part of the amateur team RC Olympia Dortmund, led byHennes Junkermann. He was second at the first national road championship of re-unified Germany in 1991, first at the regional championship ofNorth Rhine-Westphalia and was included in the amateur German team for the World Championship in August. In 1992 he made name as a strong sprinter, winning thegreen jersey in thePeace Race and taking several stage wins in stage races. In July he was fourth in the road race of the1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, where he won the sprint of the peloton.[4]
In late 1992 he turned professional with the small German team Union-Frondenberg, before changing in 1993 toTeam Telekom where he further developed as a sprinter. On 27 April 1994 Zabel tested positive forclostebol metabolites inVeenendaal–Veenendaal. He was fined 3000 Swiss francs and lost 50 points. A suspension on probation was cancelled.[5] Later that year he wonParis–Tours in a mass sprint, his first win in aclassic race.
In 1995 he won two stages on theTour de France, his first success on agrand tour.
In 1996 he won again two stages in the Tour de France and won thepoints classification. He took over thegreen jersey in the 10th stage and wore it until the end of the Tour. That year his Telekom team took first and second place in the general classification as well, withBjarne Riis andJan Ullrich respectively.
In 1997 Zabel won his firstmonument classic,Milan–San Remo. He was the only sprinter in a group of forty to make it to the finish and easily won the sprint. Later that year, he won three stages on the Tour de France and secured his second green jersey.
In 1998 he won Milan–San Remo a second time and became national road champion of Germany. He won his third green jersey in the Tour de France, however this time without a stage victory.
In 1999 he was second in Milan–San Remo, winning the peloton sprint behindAndrei Tchmil who had broken clear in the final kilometer and managed to maintain his effort. He won the important German semi-classicRund um den Henninger Turm inFrankfurt and won his fourth consecutive green jersey, equallingSean Kelly's record, again without winning a stage.
In 2000 he won two legs of theUCI Road World Cup in spring: Milan–San Remo a third time and a surprise win in theAmstel Gold Race, beatingMichael Boogerd in a bunch sprint. In the summer he won an unprecedented fifth green jersey, thereby surpassing Kelly's previous record. At the end of the year, he was the best overall in the World Cup and number two onUCI World Ranking.
In 2001 he wonMilan–San Remo a fourth time, the most since cycling legendEddy Merckx, earning him the nicknameSignore Milano-Sanremo in Italy. He won the points classification in the Tour de France a sixth consecutive time, winning three stages furthermore. Zabel's unique streak of six green jerseys was owed to his all-round ability: he was one of the strongest sprinters, but could also climb reasonably well. This meant that, apart from taking the lead in thegeneral classification in the Tour de France thanks to time bonuses, he could pick up further victories when other sprinters had retired and take the green jersey (as symbol for the leader of the points classification) to Paris. One memorable victory in securing the green jersey was in the2001 Tour de France, when his competition with AustralianStuart O'Grady lasted from the first week until the final stage in Paris, where Zabel's better placing took the green jersey off O'Grady's shoulders. Later that summer, he also won theHEW Cyclassics, Germany's biggest one-day classic, and his seventh World Cup race. In September he won three stages, consecutive, in theVuelta a España and was fifth in the World Championship road race inLisbon.
2001 turned out to be his most successful year ever. At the end of the year, he had won 29 races and was number one on the closing standings of the world ranking.
In 2002 he missed the breakaway in Milan–San Remo but wonRund um den Henninger Turm a second time. In the summer, he failed to win a seventh consecutive green jersey in the Tour de France. He won one stage victory, his twelfth in total, but was ultimately beaten by AustralianRobbie McEwen in the final points classification. He won the points classification in the Vuelta a España instead, without winning a stage. InZolder, in Belgium, he finished third at the World championship in a peloton sprint behindMario Cipollini and Robbie McEwen. At the end of the year, he maintained his number one position on the world ranking.
Zabel would have retroactively been awarded theVélo d'Or for his performances of 2000 and 2001, but afterLance Armstrong was stripped of the titles in 2012–2013, as with each other races, the 2nd-place finisher was not promoted to 1st.
In 2003 he became national road champion of Germany for a second time, but failed to win a stage in the Tour de France and was third in the final points classification. He won two stages in the Vuelta and again won the points classification of the race. In October he won Paris–Tours for the second time in his career and was awarded the unofficialRuban Jaune for winning the race in a record average speed for a one-day race of 47.55 km per hour. The record stood until 2010 whenÓscar Freire won Paris–Tours riding at an average of speed of 47.73 km per hour.[6] He ended the year as number two on the world ranking behindPaolo Bettini.
In 2004 Zabel began the season losing what would have been his fifthMilan–San Remo. He looked secure to win the sprint, but lifted his arms to celebrate too early and was ultimately foiled byÓscar Freire. He was third in the points classification of the Tour de France and first in the Vuelta points classification, but despite numerous second and third places, he didn't win a stage. His first place in the Vuelta was also his ninth win in a points classification of a grand tour, an all-time record. At the2004 Olympics inAthens, he was again fourth in the road race, again winning the sprint behind three escapees and so missing an olympic medal twelve years after Barcelona. In October, after 9 victories and 18 second places throughout the season, he ended the year as he had begun it: second behind Freire, this time in the world championship inVerona.
In 2005 Zabel became the first to win Rund um den Henninger-Turm in Frankfurt a third time, in his first win on the season. In May he participated for the first time in his career in theGiro d'Italia, seeking the only points classification he had not yet won, but failed to win a stage and was sixth in the points ranking. His T-Mobile Team, keen on winning the Tour de France with Jan Ullrich, decided not to include him in the selection for that year's Tour, much to the discontent of Zabel, who declared at the start of the HEW Cyclassics that he would be leaving the team at the end of the year. He rode the Vuelta, but was unable to win a stage or the points classification despite multiple second places behindAlessandro Petacchi, and played no role in the World Championship inMadrid. In October he won Paris–Tours a third time, equalling the record in the classic ofGustave Danneels,Paul Maye andGuido Reybrouck.
At 35, Zabel left his team Telekom after 13 years, and signed on for the Italian-Germanteam Milram in 2006, where he teamed up with Alessandro Petacchi. Petacchi was considered the fastest sprinter in the world by then and would focus on an Italian program, but the Italian broke his knee in the Giro, making Zabel the leader of the team that season. He had to wait until 24 May to take his first win of the season, a stage in theBayern Rundfahrt. In theTour, he was the team leader in the absence of a GC contender, and was ultimately second in the points classification, but his best stage results were two third places. In the Vuelta he won two stages, his firstProTour wins in 2006, before heading to the world championship. InSalzburg, he finished second in a three-man sprint with Paolo Bettini andAlejandro Valverde, his third podium finish in the world championships.
In 2007 he won two stages in the Bayern Rundfahrt and one in the Tour de Suisse. He was again captain in the team selection for the Tour de France, after Alessandro Petacchi had been suspended for a positivesalbutamol test. He wore the green jersey one day, was twice second and once third in a stage, but was third once more in the final points classification. In July he won one stage in the Deutschland Tour, his 13th in total, and won the race's points classification for the seventh time. In September he won the seventh stage in theTour of Spain, ahead of world champion Bettini, totalling eight stage victories in the Vuelta throughout his career.
In 2008 he won one race, a stage win in theTour of Valencia early in the season. In his last participation in the Tour de France, at age 38, he was once more third in the final points classification. In September 2008 Zabel stated he would retire the following month after 16 years as a professional cyclist with 209 professional road victories and many more podium finishes.[7] In December 2008 he joined the Columbia team as an advisor, to work alongside riders such asMark Cavendish,André Greipel andMark Renshaw.[8]
On 24 May 2007, Zabel and formerTeam Telekom teammateRolf Aldag admitted usingEPO to prepare for the1996 Tour de France. Zabel told at a press conference he experimented with it for a week and stopped due to side effects. He apologized for lying about using EPO in the past.[9] His confession was triggered by accusations by former Team Telekom masseurJef d'Hont and the confessions ofBert Dietz,Udo Bölts andChristian Henn, all former members of Team Telekom. D'Hont's book, of which excerpts were printed in the German political magazineDer Spiegel in April 2007, accused members of Team Telekom of systematic doping with EPO in the mid-1990s.[10]
His name was also on the list of doping tests published by theFrench Senate on 24 July 2013 that were collected during the1998 Tour de France and found positive forEPO when retested in 2004.[11] As a result, Zabel was suspended from his coaching role with Team Katusha and resigned his membership of theUCI's Professional Cycling Council.[12]
Days later, Zabel finally admitted to sueddeutsche.de and revealed the level of his truth-bending. He told the German publication that he actually used the substance between 1996 and 2003, as well as other banned products and methods. "EPO, cortisone, then even blood doping: it is still a big deal", he said.[13]
Points classification,Vuelta a BurgosPoints classification Points classification
OverallVuelta a AndalucíaPoints classification
Road race, National Road Championships Points classificationPoints classification
after Stage 2 Points classificationPoints classification,Tour de France
OverallUCI Road World CupPoints classification Points classification Points classificationPoints classification
after Stages 3–11 & 18–19 Points classification
Points classification Points classification after Stage 3 after Stages 1–9 & 11–12 Points classification Points classification Points classification Points classification Points classification
Points classification,Vuelta a España
Road race,UCI Road World Championships Points classificationRoad race, National Road Championships
Points classification Points classification Points classification Points classification Points classification
Points classification,Vuelta a España
Road race,UCI Road World Championships Points classification Points classification,Deutschland TourRoad race,UCI Road World Championships Points classification Points classification after Stage 5| Grand Tour | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Giro d'Italia | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 63 | — | — | 80 |
 Tour de France | DNF | 90 | 82 | 66 | 62 | 89 | 61 | 96 | 82 | 107 | 59 | — | 84 | 79 | 41 |
/ Vuelta a España | — | DNF | — | — | — | — | — | 86 | 69 | 72 | 43 | 63 | 62 | 73 | 49 |
| Monument | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Milan–San Remo | 94 | 16 | 69 | 39 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 70 | 6 | 2 | 14 | 21 | 6 | 17 |
| Tour of Flanders | 59 | 22 | 69 | 20 | 39 | 43 | 22 | 4 | 53 | 10 | 43 | — | 4 | 11 | DNF | 67 |
| Paris–Roubaix | — | — | 44 | 36 | 41 | — | 29 | 3 | — | 26 | 15 | — | — | 12 | — | — |
| Liège–Bastogne–Liège | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 39 | — | — | — | 81 | — | — | — | — |
| Giro di Lombardia | 60 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Classic | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 |
| Gent–Wevelgem | — | 36 | 8 | 11 | 93 | 6 | 23 | 41 | 9 | 8 | — | — | 9 | 41 | — | 4 |
| Scheldeprijs | 60 | — | 9 | 5 | 1 | — | 2 | 7 | — | — | 5 | — | — | — | 7 | 4 |
| Amstel Gold Race | — | — | — | 38 | 62 | 39 | 13 | 1 | DNF | 9 | 15 | 16 | 49 | — | 58 | 23 |
| Frankfurt Grand Prix | 46 | 46 | 53 | 6 | — | 10 | 1 | 29 | 53 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 4 | 13 | — |
| Hamburg Cyclassics | — | — | — | — | — | 22 | 9 | 4 | 1 | 77 | 6 | 7 | 15 | 2 | 5 | — |
| — | Did not compete |
|---|---|
| DNF | Did not finish |
| Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | German Sportsman of the Year 2001 | Succeeded by |
| UCI Road World Cup | |
|---|---|
| UCI ProTour |
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| UCI World Tour | |
| UCI World Ranking |
|
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
