Zabel speaks out.......

wolfix said:

I found the following article interesting . I thought it was a shame when Zabel was left off the T-M squad for the TDF. Karma worked it's magic though when T-M had to leave JU home this year. I always felt that T-M should have been Zabel's team instead of JU's. JU ended up being a liability for T-M in the long run.
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Taken from the Pez website.......
Zabel Takes A Jab
On New Year's Eve, Erik Zabel spoke with Italian sport paper, La Gazzetta dello Sport, concerning cycling's current plight, his agreement with DNA testing, and some thoughts on Ulle.

"With the DNA-tests, we would immediately get security, and that's what we need. It can't go on like this. We need security in sport. It's not possible to stand on the start line with these doubts. The doubts have disturbed our sport."

Concerning Jan Ullrich, Ete comments: "We raced on Telekom for twelve years together, then Jan didn't want me anymore. Ullrich should have had more respect and interest in others in his team. "

Zabel alluded to one experience in which he sought his friend Rolf Aldag's help in order to mediate between Ullrich and Zabel in the lead-up to the 2005 Tour, but to no avail.

It doesn't seem that Zabel is missing Der Kaiser's presence in pro cycling, and there is certainly no love lost. If Ullrich does make a return to pro bike racing, it will be interesting to see how the two respond to each other."

It is no secret,they did not get along.

wolfix said:

I found the following article interesting . I thought it was a shame when Zabel was left off the T-M squad for the TDF. Karma worked it's magic though when T-M had to leave JU home this year. I always felt that T-M should have been Zabel's team instead of JU's. JU ended up being a liability for T-M in the long run.
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Taken from the Pez website.......
Zabel Takes A Jab
On New Year's Eve, Erik Zabel spoke with Italian sport paper, La Gazzetta dello Sport, concerning cycling's current plight, his agreement with DNA testing, and some thoughts on Ulle.

"With the DNA-tests, we would immediately get security, and that's what we need. It can't go on like this. We need security in sport. It's not possible to stand on the start line with these doubts. The doubts have disturbed our sport."

Concerning Jan Ullrich, Ete comments: "We raced on Telekom for twelve years together, then Jan didn't want me anymore. Ullrich should have had more respect and interest in others in his team. "

Zabel alluded to one experience in which he sought his friend Rolf Aldag's help in order to mediate between Ullrich and Zabel in the lead-up to the 2005 Tour, but to no avail.

It doesn't seem that Zabel is missing Der Kaiser's presence in pro cycling, and there is certainly no love lost. If Ullrich does make a return to pro bike racing, it will be interesting to see how the two respond to each other."

Thanks for the post, Wolf.

I'm a EZ fan - for me he's the most consistent rider for the 1995-2005 period.
He's a throwback to the old days of Kelly, DeVlaeminck, Jalabert :

Demands of riders like Zabel, the media, teams, some fans and other authorities in the cycling world want DNA tests for what? If they mean for the bags of blood found in the OPuerto how would this happen? (not withstanding the judge in charge of this case has said this will not happen).

58 riders had codenames linked to them by the spanish police, another 18 codenames where not allocated to a rider (eg Cowboy, Rosa, Val Piti, MZD etc), so that makes 76 possible riders, also another 8 codenames not known to be riders or team members. Would the DNA test be against the codename allocated or against all bags of blood found, what if only a few match up would the whole peleton then be DNA'ed?

No rider implicated has currently tested positive under OPuerto. Riders careers have been trashed, two whole teams, Comunidad Valenciana and the LS Wurth have been disbanned not just affecting riders but all the support staff on what, a 38 page report faxed to the start of the TdF, translated from Spainish by a Belgium DS, where I also remember riders names where on this report and then taken off on that day. Subsequently national associations have cleared riders, blood bags have gone missing, documents have been alleged to be false, an investigator has been up in court. But still nobody in cycling will take the lead, they just continue to snipe at each other. Its depressing and as an outsider, a fan, I feel powerless to do anything except marvel at the stupidity of it all.

foxvi said:

No rider implicated has currently tested positive under OPuerto.

That was kind of the reason that they were willing to pay Dr Fuentes the big $$$. It doesn't really achieve a lot if you pay him huge money for a doping program and then test positive.

patch70 said:

That was kind of the reason that they were willing to pay Dr Fuentes the big $$$. It doesn't really achieve a lot if you pay him huge money for a doping program and then test positive.

Yes good point... these boys paid over the odds (€70,000+ per plan) to know their blood would be screened and tested before being transfused.... they knew they could never test positive.... their is a great article in this months ProCycling which talks about the "death of the climber" - There are several case studies how blood doping more so than straight EPO use has brought the peleton up to the climbers and hence lost "real" racing in the mountains as we knew it... they even some of the Festina boys making comment on the gains from non-climbers in the mountains... I'll scan it in at some point and post.... very good... it also has a great chart on d'Huez climbing times in relation to doping technology.... with Schleck's winning time (40+mins) being the slowest
[font=Verdana]in 10 years...(and we thought CSC had a doping programme !? tsk tsk !).... they also talk about non-climbers and as heavy as Hincapie winning mountain stages and how it just isn't possible without assistance... [/font][font=Verdana][/font]

foxvi said:

Demands of riders like Zabel, the media, teams, some fans and other authorities in the cycling world want DNA tests for what? If they mean for the bags of blood found in the OPuerto how would this happen? (not withstanding the judge in charge of this case has said this will not happen).

58 riders had codenames linked to them by the spanish police, another 18 codenames where not allocated to a rider (eg Cowboy, Rosa, Val Piti, MZD etc), so that makes 76 possible riders, also another 8 codenames not known to be riders or team members. Would the DNA test be against the codename allocated or against all bags of blood found, what if only a few match up would the whole peleton then be DNA'ed?

No rider implicated has currently tested positive under OPuerto. Riders careers have been trashed, two whole teams, Comunidad Valenciana and the LS Wurth have been disbanned not just affecting riders but all the support staff on what, a 38 page report faxed to the start of the TdF, translated from Spainish by a Belgium DS, where I also remember riders names where on this report and then taken off on that day. Subsequently national associations have cleared riders, blood bags have gone missing, documents have been alleged to be false, an investigator has been up in court. But still nobody in cycling will take the lead, they just continue to snipe at each other. Its depressing and as an outsider, a fan, I feel powerless to do anything except marvel at the stupidity of it all.

This is about Zabel's and JU's relationship, not about doping. It's a new year, so put the doping behind you.

wolfix said:

This is about Zabel's and JU's relationship, not about doping. It's a new year, so put the doping behind you.

I've put the doping behind me, the pain (I had Jaw-bone surgery last month) has gone and I ride clean again (why did you ask in the Zabel thread, I never was a good sprinter - isn't a PM better to ask this kind of questions? I know what will happen, I will have 30 WADA guys going after me now and I don't even have a dog😄 ).

Like jhuskey posted: it is well known that Zabel and Ullrich aren't exactly friends. Ullrich said last year (asked about Zabel leaving TM) that they didn't speak a lot with each other and it is no secret that "we won't miss each other". He also said he had a lot of respect for Erik as a rider.

cyclingheroes said:

I've put the doping behind me, the pain (I had Jaw-bone surgery last month) has gone and I ride clean again (why did you ask in the Zabel thread, I never was a good sprinter - isn't a PM better to ask this kind of questions? I know what will happen, I will have 30 WADA guys going after me now and I don't even have a dog😄 ).

Like jhuskey posted: it is well known that Zabel and Ullrich aren't exactly friends. Ullrich said last year (asked about Zabel leaving TM) that they didn't speak a lot with each other and it is no secret that "we won't miss each other". He also said he had a lot of respect for Erik as a rider.

My dog is a doper.

wolfix said:

My dog is a doper.

My dog is clean but he did get really drunk one time and woke up with a cat in his bed.
He still won't talk about it.

jhuskey said:

My dog is clean but he did get really drunk one time and woke up with a cat in his bed.
He still won't talk about it.

I think that has happened to all of us at one time or another.***

My dog woke up with Tyler H's twin in his bed. My dog "will" talk about it. He has been pestering CH to get the story posted on the "cycling hero's" website.

****** I always felt sorry for the guy who married the women the rest of us never would talk about.