Next season, the long-time Telekom sprinter will become performance manager at Katusha-Alpecin - the racing team where he had to give up his position as sports director in 2013 following his second doping confession. Now comes the comeback of the former sprint star, who is to use his expertise to help the most successful German Tour stage winner, who has been struggling badly of late.
Zabel was in a good mood during his comeback appearance at the team presentation in Koblenz, but also remained modest. He preferred to work in the background, said Zabel and smiled. "I didn't need this round here. In the new year, the focus should be on athletes like Marcel Kittel, he is one of our leaders. Hopefully it will then be a little less about me."
The Zabel case is somewhat explosive. In 2013, the former top sprinter had to make another doping confession after he was exposed as an EPO offender at the 1998 Tour de France in the course of a report by the French Senate. Zabel then lost all his activities in cycling and only appeared at races as a privateer and father of his son Rick, who also rides for Katusha. Now it's time for his return, where he meets Kittel, who has always made a name for himself in the anti-doping fight with a clear opinion.
Kittel was open to working together: "I think we can benefit from Erik's racing experience. His tips are a great help. I'm working with him for the first time, so of course that's a help."
Kittel could do with some help after a sobering 2018 season. The 30-year-old, who was already reverently dubbed "Le Kaiser" in France after a total of 14 Tour stage wins, can look back on a difficult first year with his new team. In smaller tours, he was also far behind in sprint stages, at the Tour he was underestimated and, like several sprinters, was ultimately taken out of the race prematurely for exceeding the time limit.
"It's important to leave a shitty year with your head held high. My incentive is to do better in 2019 than this year. That's also why I stayed with Katusha. I told myself: I don't want to leave like this," emphasised the superstar, who has ticked off 2018.
The sprint specialist is just as familiar with lows as he is with highs, and his career has been undulating of late. The triumphant years of 2013 and 2014 were followed by the difficult year of 2015, when nothing came together at all, before he found his way back to his old strength with the Quick-Step racing team. "In my career, things have either gone really well or really badly. It's also a mental thing," said Kittel, who took a longer break in September and October. He is now slowly testing himself again in Japan and China. Victories should then follow from the new year onwards.
