Erik Zabel at the Bayern Rundfahrt (Image credit: Andrea Hübner)
The German Cycling Federation (BDR) has said that Erik Zabel will not be named in its team for this year's World Road Championships in Stuttgart after admitting he used the banned blood booster EPO in 1996 whilst riding for Team Telekom. BDR vice-president Wolfgang Schoppe said that nominations for the German team would be decided at a meeting on Friday, but that the federation was already certain Zabel would not take part.
The decision to exclude the 36 year-old Milram sprinter was taken after insistence from the Ministry of Home Affairs, which only wants riders without connections to doping to represent Germany in national competition.
Zabel made his tearful confession at a press conference in Bonn and June 24 alongside former Telekom team-mate Rolf Aldag, and his since been told by the German Olympic Committee that he cannot compete in next year's Olympic Road Race in Beijing. However, the seven-time Tour de France green jersey winner has continued competing for Milram, with team management set to decide his future at the end of the season.
