Erik Zabel Quotations

Milram allows me the chance to pursue races which are very dear to me, such as the Tour de France which wasn't possible at T-Mobile,

Magnifique!, ... It's a very good day for me and my team manager Walter Godefroot, as well as for Frans Van Looy. It's last race this season for them, and also for Aldag and myself, so to finish it with a victory here on Paris-Tours is wonderful! Of course, after 13 years of a lot of victories and emotions with Telekom and later T-Mobile, this is a very precious moment.

I actually have no idea about what can happen on Sunday,

He will certainly do a big race on Sunday because I have seen him doing fine during the last week. He is a rider that can be in front during long races and he does good sprints.

there is enough place for the two of us with 180 days of racing a year.

I was all calm, since I already won two times in Tours and placed third another two times. So I knew how to perform the sprint. The fact that it really worked out, was terrific. It's a dream come true.

The sprint was long and difficult, Bennati kept me on my toes all the way to the finish.

Now I too can profit from the train which is at Petacchi's disposition,

I've got everything I need here to be happy - a solid team, good riders and a great team manager (Stanga).

I'm of course not so happy that I didn't ride in the Tour de France and that was my first time that I didn't do the Tour for years. So, it was not so good for me not to ride the Tour, but after my broken ankle in the spring, I was good in the rest of the classics. I also hope to be good for the rest of the season and now I'm a little bit like in the Vuelta, or maybe a little bit better. I'm happy.

Still, I leave with a lot of good memories and a good number of friends.

A perfect scenario for me would be a mass sprint of 14 or 15 riders.

I have the possibility of starting fresh with a new team and offering some of my own experience to my new teammates. I'm excited at that prospect.

It was a hard sprint because Bennati is very strong right now. This is a very emotional moment for me, and for the team in which I have so many friends.

It's a dream come true. I wanted to say farewell to T-Mobile by winning here and I'm delighted I could. The sprint was long and difficult, Bennati kept me on my toes all the way to the finish.

It's a great moment for me, especially in my last race with the team.