Rund um Köln organiser won't give up

The cancellation of the German one-day race Rund um Köln this week due to snow was a hard blow to Artur Tabat. The 66 year-old has organised the event since 1972, and it was the first time that he had to cancel the race. But Tabat already believed that the financially-troubled race will be back in 2009.

At least he didn't have financial problems this year. His two largest sponsors, Milram and Schwalbe, have both indicated that they wouldn't request back monies they had already paid. "I will do what I can, to make sure that Rund un Köln will take place in 2009 again," he told the Rheinische Post newspaper.

Tabat added that he was receiving a lot of public support, citing numerous e-mails, text messages and phone calls. CSC's Jens Voigt thanked him for the decision to cancel the race, and even High Road's Linus Gerdemann, who couldn't take part, chimed in. "He contacted me from his hospital bed and said that I shouldn't give up," Tabat said.