Erik Zabel Photo Gallery
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Major wins and high placings | Pro teams | Photos |
Erik Zabel was born July 7, 1970, in East Berlin, back when there was an East Germany. There is no question that Erik Zabel was one of the sport's greatest sprinters. His more than 200 professional victories were the result of a well-rounded athleticism. He not only had a startling turn of speed, in his prime Zabel possessed an exquisite sense of timing that made watching him sprint a real pleasure.
His many points classification wins (including nine in Grand Tours, six in the Tour de France) was due in no small part to his ability to get over high mountains in good time, when many of his fellow sprinters would either struggle to finish within the time limit or abandon (Mario Cipollini never finished a Tour de France).
Beyond a nearly uncountable number of stage and criterium victories, Zabel's win list includes an impressive number of high-value single-day races including four Milano-San Remo victories and three Paris-Tours wins.
Zabel spent the most productive years of his career riding for Telekom. Zabel was part of the 1997 Telekom Tour de France machine that saw his team win the Yellow Jersey (Jan Ullrich), Green Jersey (Erik Zabel), White Jersey (Jan Ullrich), Team Classification and second place in the mountains classification (Jan Ullrich).
While Zabal was a nearly faultless rider, he famously let the 2004 Milano-San Remo slip out of his fingers. Thinking he had the race won, his lifted his hands off the bars to salute the crowd for what should have been his fifth victory in Italy's most prestigious single-day race, but the extravagantly talented Oscar Freire threw his bike across the line and to the win.
Like nearly all riders of the 1990s and early 2000s, Zabel initially denied taking performance enhancing drugs. But, like nearly all good riders of his era, he took them and as evidence mounted, he eventually confessed to using dope from 1996 to 2004.
Major victories and high placings:
1990:
- East German amateur road champion
1992:
- 4th place, Olympic Road Race
1994:
- 4 stage wins, Tour de l'Avenir
- Classic Haribo
- Paris-Tours
1995:
- 3rd place Four Days of Dunkerque with two stage wins
1996:
- Rund um Köln
- Tour de France points classification
1997:
- Palma de Mallorca
- Trofeo Luis Puig
- Vuelta a Andalucia
- Milano-San Remo
- Grote Scheldeprijs
- Tour de France points classification with three stage wins
1998:
- Milano-San Remo
- German Road Championships
- Tour de France points classification
- Coca-Cola Trophy
1999:
- Coca-Cola Trophy
- 2nd place Milano-San Remo
- Rund um den Henninger Turm
- Tour de France points classification
2000:
- Trofeo Luis Puig
- Milano-San Remo
- 3rd place Paris-Roubaix
- Amstel Gold Race
- Tour de France points classification
2001:
- Palma de Mallorca
- Trofeo Cala Bona
- Milano-San Remo
- 2nd place German Road Championships
- Tour de France points classification
- HEW Cyclassics
- 2nd place Vuelta a España points classification
- 3rd place Paris-Tours
- UCI Number 1 ranked rider
2002
- Tirreno-Adriatico points classification
- Rund um den Henninger Turm
- 3rd place German Road Championships
- Tour of Switzerland points classification
- Tour of Germany points classification
- Ronde van Nederland points classification
- 2nd place Tour de France points classification
- Vuelta a España points classification
- 3rd place Paris-Tours
- UCI Number 1 ranked rider
2003:
- German Road Championships
- 2nd place Eschborn-Frankfurt City Loop
- 3rd place Tour de France points classification
- Vuelta a España points classification
- Paris-Tours
2004:
- Rund um Köln
- 3rd place Tour de France points classification
- Vuelta a España points classification
2005:
- Eschborn-Frankfurt City Loop
- 3rd place German Road Championships
- Paris-Tours
2006:
- 2nd place Tour of Qatar
- 2nd place Tour de France points classification
- 2nd place HEW Cyclassics
- Tour of Germany points classification
- 2nd place World Road Championships
2007:
- 3rd place Tour de France points classification
- Tour of Germany points classification
2008:
- 2nd place German Road Championships
- 3rd place Tour de France points classification
1991: Die Continentale
1992: Union Fröndenberg
1993-2003: Telekom
2004-2005: T-Mobile
2006-2008: Milram
1995 Tour de France, stage 4: Mario Cipollini beating Erik Zabel (far left) into second place.
Zabel gets this one. Here he triumphs in stage 6 of the 1995 Tour in Charleroi.
Zabel time trials to Seraing in stage 8 of the 1995 Tour de France.
Zabel climbs in the 1996 Liège-Bastogne-Liège. That's probably Bjarne Riis behind him in the Danish champion's jersey.
Erik Zabel time trialing to Val d'Isere in stage 8 of the 1996 Tour de france. Note he using the now illegal Cinelli Spinaci time trial extensions.
Zabel ready to ride the 18th stage of the 1996 Tour de France. He's wearing the points leader's green jersey.
Zabel in the start house of stage 20 of the 1996 Tour de France.
Erik Zabel celebrates winning the 1996 Tour de France green jersey after the final stage in Paris.
Erik Zabel wins the 1997 Milano-San Remo. Note the crash behind him.
Zabel at the 1997 Tour de France prologue.
Zabel wins in Plumelec in stage 3 of the 1997 Tour de France.
This might be Erik Zabel winning the seventh stage of the 1997 Tour de France in Bordeaux.
Zabel (in green) climbs the Pyreneeswith a teammate in stage 9 of the 1997 Tour de France.
Stage 13 of the 1997 Tour de France: Erik Zabel climbs to l'Alpe d'Huez
Glory days for Team Telekom. Here they are after stage 14, in Courchevel. Telekom owns the Yellow and Green Jerseys and Team Classification. Erik Zabel is to the right, in green.
1997 Tour de France final classification winners, from left: Richard Virenque (mountains), Jan Ullrich (GC), Erik Zabel (points).
Zabel wins the 1998 Milano-San Remo.
Zabel riding the 1998 Tour of Flanders (Ronde van Vlaanderen).
Erik Zabel gets it right in stage 8 of the 1998 Tour de France in Montauban.
At the start line of stage 16 of the 1998 Tour de France: Erik Zabel and Marco Pantani.
Taking the green jersey home. Erik Zabel rides the final leg of the 1998 Tour de France.
Zabel rides the 1999 Tour de France prologue.
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Eric Zabel enjoys l'Equipe before the start of stage 13 of the 1999 Tour de France.
Zabel smiles after winning the 2000 Milano-San Remo.
And then Zabel wins the 2000 Amstel Gold Race.
Zabel with the other non-climbers ascends to Lourdes/Hautacam in stage 10 of the 2000 Tour de France.
Erik Zabel time trials to Mulhouse in stage 19 of the 2000 Tour de France.
Triumph in Troyes. Zabel wins stage 20 of the 2000 Tour de France.
2001 Milano-San Remo is Zabel's.
Erik Zabel wins stage one of the 2001 Tour de France.
2001 Tour de France stage 3: Zabel wins in Seraing.
Zabel endures a wet day in Vosges in stage seven of the 2001 Tour de France.
No longer wearing green, Zabel wins stage 19 of the 2001 Tour de France in Evry.
Back in green on the Tour's last day. Erik Zabel with Jan Ullrich in Paris at the end of stage 20 of the 2001 Tour de France.
After the Tour Zabel won the 2001 HEW Cyclassic in Hamburg.
Zabel corners during the 2002 Tour de France prologue.
Zabel is in yellow as he races the team time trial in stage 4 of the 2002 Tour de France.
Erik Zabel wins stage 6 of the 2002 Tour in Alencon.
Zabel with Cipollini at the first stage of the 2003 Tirreno-Adriatico. You can see why Zabel could get up mountains and Cipollini couldn't.
Zabel rides the cobbles at the 2003 Tour of Flanders. That's probably Viatcheslav Ekimov behind him in the US Postal kit.
Zabel wearing the Champion of Germany jersey at the 2003 Tour de France teams presentation ceremony.
Erik Zabel races the 2003 Tour prologue.
Zabel time trials to Cap Decouverte in stage 12 of the 2003 Tour de France.
Looks like Zabel is running errands for his team at the beginning of stage 14 of the 2003 Tour de France.
Zabel beats a distraught Alessandro Petacchi in the 2003 Paris-Tours.
Oops! Zabel thinks he's won the 2004 Milano-San Remo but Oscar Freire has thrown his bike acorss the line and won the race.
2004 Tour de France, stage 3: Zabel (left) loses a close one to Jean-Patrick Nazon
Oscar Freire beats Zabel again. This is the finish of the 2004 Verona world road championships. Freire gets the rainbow jersey and Zabel gets second place.
2004 World Road Championships podium, from left: Erik Zabel, Oscar Freire and Luca Paolini.
Zabel descends during the 2005 Milano-San Remo
Zabel climbs the Molenberg in the 2005 Tour of Flanders.
Erik Zabel prepares to time trial from Lamporecchio to Firenze in stage 8 of the 2005 Giro d'Italia.
Zabel (pink T-Mobile kit) wins the 2005 Paris-Tours
2006 Worlds: Paolo Bettini (blue, of course) narrowly beats Erik Zabel for the Rainbow Jersey.
Zabel (blue Milram kit) climbs wet, slippery cobbles at the 2008 Ronde van Vlaanderen.
September 2008: Erik Zabel announces his retirement at the 2008 World championships.