No edits are necessary when you transcribe a chat with Erik Zabel; one of the best sprinters in the world is also a very eloquent talker. Well, at least in German, the language Cyclingnews' Hedwig Kröner spoke with "Ete" at T-Mobile's team presentation in Bonn.
Erik Zabel is still annoyed at the ongoing discussions about his participation in the Tour de France. His team-mate and Tour podium finisher Andreas Klöden had brought about the issue in public when he told journalists at the end of last year that "in order to win the Tour de France, you need one captain and eight helpers," indirectly questioning Zabel's participation. Both Zabel and Klöden are saying they had a reconciling conversation about it, but the attending media representatives were eager to know more.
"It's OK to have different opinions and to think about different strategies," Zabel acknowledged. When asked if one of the reasons should he be excluded would be his (unconfirmed) poor team time trial qualities, he said: "At the moment, there are 15 riders on the roster for the Tour, and the management will pick nine of them in June."
