Zabel's future hangs in the balance

Team Milram hasn't yet decided what to do with Erik Zabel, despite a seven-hour emergency meeting on Saturday. The former Team Telekom rider admitted at a press conference on Thursday that he used EPO in 1996.

"We still have some things to clear up, then we'll announce our decision, probably on Tuesday," the team's business manager Gerry van Gerwen told dpa. Zabel could be suspended by the team in light of his doping confession.

Zabel, van Gerwen, team manager Gianluigi Stanga and Martin Mischel, head of marketing for sponsor Nordmilch, met in Bremen, Germany, on Saturday to discuss the rider's future following last week's revelations.

The German cycling federation, Bund Deutscher Radfahrer (BDR), is also considering whether or not Zabel will be allowed to take part in the world championships in Stuttgart this year. "The decision absolutely won't be made this weekend," said BDR sport director Burkhard Bremer. "We will sit down together in the presidium and not let ourselves be forced into anything."

Zabel, speaking at last week's press conference, admitted he knew there would be a consequence of his admission, and that he was willing to face it. "There will be lots of discussions," he admitted. "I don't know what the consequences will be, but I am willing to face them."