About Rick Zabel
- Nationality: German
- Born: 7 December 1993 in Unna
- Marital status: Married to Leonie, two children
- Teams: BMC Racing Team (2014-2016), Team Katyusha-Alpecin (2017-2019), Israel Cycling Academy (2020-2021), Israel-Premier Tech (2022-2024)
- Greatest successes: Stage win in the Tour of Austria 2015, second in Eschborn-Frankfurt 2017, stage win in the Tour of Yorkshire 2019
- Instagram: rickzabel
Interview with Rick Zabel
TOUR: Mr Zabel, now that you are no longer a professional cyclist: What were the first things you did without regrets?
Rick Zabel: I haven't gone to extremes now. During my career, I used to go out on Friday evenings or order pizza when there was no race on. So not much has changed. I'm just looking forward to doing alternative sports - going to the gym or taking up running.
Thoughts on the end of your career
TOUR: Why did you end your career prematurely in the middle of the season after Rund um Köln?
Rick Zabel: It was a gut decision. The internal plan was that I would stop at the end of the year - now Paris-Roubaix in April was my last race without me knowing it. A week after the race I got a call from our team manager Kjell Carlström. We had a long chat until he asked: Rick, could you imagine quitting earlier?
The team has Joe Blackmore as a huge young talent (2024 winner of the Tour du Rwanda and Liège-Bastogne-Liège U23, editor's note), who is already set to step up. I had a few days to think about it. The decisive factor for me was: Do I have a chance of winning the Tour? Then I would have continued. But the team's answer was "no". The severance package was also very attractive. So it was just right for me.
TOUR: When did the thought solidify in your mind? Maybe I won't be doing cycling for much longer?
Rick Zabel: When I was 23 or 24, I already had it in my head that I would ride until I was 30 - and then see if that was still the case. Last year, I realised that I was much more interested in other things than being a professional. And when you ask yourself the "why" question, the decision has already been made.
TOUR: Ending your career at the age of 30 is unusually early. Your father, Erik, pushed his career to 38. How did those around you react?
Rick Zabel: I often talked to my dad about this topic last summer. He didn't understand it at first. He's a different kind of guy and still lives for cycling. For him, his years as a professional cyclist were the best time of his life. But after two weeks he came to me and said: "You're not me, you have to live your life - and as long as you're happy, I'm happy too. It was similar now. He didn't talk me into it. My mum and my grandparents, on the other hand, were just waiting for it to happen. In my private life, I complained a lot about cycling - my family realised that I was going my own way. And as far as the crash aspect is concerned, the family isn't sad that I no longer have to keep up with the sprints.
Family and cycling
TOUR: You know both perspectives in cycling: as a son and as a father. To what extent can professional cycling and family be reconciled?
Rick Zabel: In the past, I would have said: that works well. Of course, my father was often away and I missed him. But when I was at the Tour de France as a child, those were great times. I wouldn't want to miss that. I grew up with it and it was cool to have those experiences. But cycling has changed enormously.
TOUR: In what way?
Rick Zabel: Everything is designed to be professional. I used to go to the races a lot, or my dad would take us to the training camps. That's no longer possible these days. In my opinion, having your own family is no longer so desirable. You're supposed to be an athlete. When I talk to young riders, I tell them: Ride until you're 30 or 32 years old and then start a family. That way you don't get into the conflict that I had all the time. Because on the one hand, you feel guilty when you're not with your family, and on the other hand, there's a feeling at home that you're not living the professional life you should perhaps be living.
The path to social media
TOUR: Have you recently seen yourself more as a professional cyclist or as a so-called content creator in social media?
Rick Zabel: The thing that made me happy was definitely the storytelling on social media. However, I also enjoyed being a professional cyclist. If a race didn't go well, I was disappointed, that's how ambitious I was. Nevertheless, cycling is relatively dull: cycling, massage, eating - and that every day. I needed something on the side that challenged me, where I had a creative output. And the more professionally I did everything on social media, the more I realised that there was an interest. Basically, I'm happy with my career - the only thing missing was sporting success. At some point, Instagram became a kind of substitute success: look, I'm successful at this, it's my unique selling point. That was a driving force for me.
TOUR: Do you see yourself as a pioneer in this field?
Rick Zabel: You could say that. But only in hindsight. Because it wasn't planned that way at the beginning. It happened completely authentically and organically on the side - and then became more and more. It also took me out of the cycling world a bit.
Criticism from the world of cycling
TOUR: How has that been perceived in cycling? Have other riders approached you - perhaps even for tips?
Rick Zabel: Quite often, in fact. For example, Michael Matthews came up to me during a stroll around Paris-Nice this year. He said he'd stumbled across my Instagram profile and got stuck in - it's crazy how I do it all. Young riders also often ask me questions. Recognition has grown over the past two or three years. And financially, I can honestly say, it's been more worthwhile than my professional contract.
TOUR: Was there any criticism?
Rick Zabel: Yes, there was a lot of criticism at the beginning. A good example is my contract year 2022. At the time, my management and I thought that with over 100,000 followers, we would have a stone in the negotiating room. But it was the complete opposite. Many team bosses saw me more as an influencer. My management always had to emphasise that I still complete 30,000 kilometres a year and have driven several lead-outs that have led to victory. But this prejudice that he only hangs around on the internet has become ingrained in many people's minds.
I thought that having over 100,000 followers on social media would give me an advantage in contract negotiations. The opposite was the case.
The future of social media in cycling
TOUR: That sounds like social media awareness is not a relevant factor for the teams. Is that still up to date?
Rick Zabel: That's exactly what I was thinking. But maybe that will come. Most team managers are over 60 years old, they might not realise what advertising platform a rider brings to the table. There's a flaw in the system somewhere: cycling is a sport run purely by sponsors, and sponsors want reach. However, the classic business model in cycling completely ignores social media, whereas it plays a huge role in other areas. Many brands are already very active in the digital world - when they get into cycling, they will say: We need riders with reach and their own fan base. I'm curious to see whether this will become relevant for teams at some point. Because there's one thing that many in cycling don't see at all...
TOUR: Which one would that be?
Rick Zabel: The normal fan can identify much better with a rider like me, who is simply happy to have survived a tough mountain stage and doesn't know how he'll get out of bed tomorrow. People are much closer to a rider like that than, for example, a Tadej Pogacar - although I am a big fan. But even I ask myself: how the hell can he be so good? The masses can't learn anything from him.
TOUR: Athletes often fall into a slump after the end of their career, as they no longer have a centre of life. You, on the other hand, seem downright euphoric.
Rick Zabel: I'm in a gold-rush mood. I feel free for the first time and can choose my partners myself. I'm no longer in the team corset where you're given this bike and that outfit or pair of glasses. I felt very trapped in that recently. Now I can tell my own story - and for the first time I'm free to decide how I spend my time.
A look back at the athlete's career
TOUR: Let's come back to your career. Was it difficult for you to accept that you would not achieve the outstanding success of your father?
Rick Zabel: It was a burden at the beginning. Because until I started my professional career, it was clear to me that I was following in his footsteps. Of course, in hindsight that was a bit megalomaniacal (laughs). But my U23 time went well, so I thought: it's going to work out now. You don't realise at first that it didn't work out that way. After my first three professional years with Team BMC, I had the feeling that I hadn't delivered what was expected. I only found myself as a rider afterwards with Katjuscha, in the role of sprint rider. That was the first time I was recognised and felt valued: I can do something well.
TOUR: What are you proud of in your career?
Rick Zabel: That I have always remained true to myself. At the age of 14, I said I was going to a sports school, and at 17 I sought contact with the Rabobank junior team myself. I cancelled my A-levels for that. My dad was totally against it - I had to assert myself. In the end, I was a professional for over a decade and rode the biggest races: the Tour four times, the Giro four times and Paris-Roubaix six times. Finishing my first Tour in 2017 was also a great feeling: as a little boy I was there on my dad's shoulders and now I'm in the pro circuit myself - that felt extremely good. Then came the second career in social media. And now I've also said it firmly: the professional cycling chapter is over.
TOUR: Do you see any missed opportunities?
Rick Zabel: In hindsight, I would have liked to have won Eschborn-Frankfurt in 2017. I started the sprint for Alexander Kristoff and finished second. That was a huge success. But a German classic would have been cool for my own list of successes. I've also often heard: you could do a lot more with your talent if you were even more professional. Maybe I should have really focussed fully on cycling for a year to see where it would take me.
On the other hand, that wouldn't have been me. Looking back, I'm happy about everything I've experienced as a professional and I'm not envious of others. Until 2018, however, I saw myself on an equal footing with Nils Politt, with whom I get on well - after that, our careers went completely opposite ways. When he won the Tour stage in 2021, I was very happy for him as a friend, but it also affected me a bit from a sporting perspective. That would have been my big dream too. However, I've also seen everything Nils has done for it.
A look into the future
TOUR: What are your hopes for the coming years?
Rick Zabel: I would like to be an example of how the career after the career is bigger. It would be cool if people said about me in a few years' time: Oh yeah, he used to be a professional cyclist, it's amazing what he did afterwards. Because there are few winners in cycling and many who are just average riders like me. I want to show them that: You can still be successful - but on a different basis.
