The Zabel family is back together at the Tour of France. Almost like in the 90s, when little Rick's hair was quickly dyed green in the porta-potty on the Champs Élysées before it went onto his father's shoulders for the podium ceremony.
Two decades later, Rick Zabel has long been a professional cyclist himself. The 25-year-old is currently competing in his third Tour. But his father has only been part of the team since this year, as Performance Manager at Katusha-Alpecin. "Of course it's something special with my son. It's also the first time," says Erik Zabel to the German Press Agency.
His son agrees with him: "It was funny at first. But it's actually like when I was younger, when he was there as a counsellor. The difference now is that he does it in English and is also there for seven other drivers. It's cool to have him there."
Zabel senior was out of the business for more than five years. After a forced second doping confession, the doors to the industry had closed for the six-time winner of the green jersey. His son dealt remarkably openly with the recurring questions about his father's past. He did not condemn him.
First and foremost, the Russian-based racing team brought in the former world-class sprinter to get Marcel Kittel back in shape. However, Germany's record stage winner has long since cancelled his contract for personal reasons. This does not mean that Erik Zabel has less work to do. Together with sports director Dirk Demol, he takes care of the race strategy and all sorts of details. His wealth of experience from around 200 professional victories is valuable, and not just for his son Rick.
Zabel was once in a similar position at Telekom's successor team HTC-Columbia, when he navigated British superstar Mark Cavendish to more than a dozen victories. Katusha does not have a man for the bunch sprints. "I'll try to get a result, maybe top 5 or top 10," says Zabel junior, who won a stage at the Tour de Yorkshire this year. Otherwise, his goal is Paris after missing the qualifying time in the mountains last year. For this endeavour, he weighs a good two kilograms less than last year.
It is still completely unclear what will happen next year - even though Rick Zabel is still under contract until the end of 2020. The racing team is facing an uncertain future. The sponsors Alpecin and Canyon are said to be unhappy with the Katusha management. The racing team currently rides under a Swiss licence, but is owned by Russian billionaire Igor Makarov.
Nevertheless, the mood is great, reports Zabel junior. The strong fifth place in the team time trial can be seen as an indication of this. "We have a great team here. The group feeling is good, it's a bit like being on a school trip," jokes Zabel - even though fathers have no business being here.
