After years of lying and continuous denials, former German sprint ace Erik Zabel finally tells the truth in Monday’s edition of Süddeutsche Zeitung. Having thus far repeatedly claimed that he'd only doped once in his career, Erik Zabel at long last comes clean about his past in an interview to be published on Monday.
Recently Zabel was branded as one of the riders who tested positive for EPO at the 1998 Tour de France, which was in conflict with his admission in 2007, along with Rolf Aldag, that he'd only used EPO during the opening week of the 1996 Grande Boucle.
"EPO, cortisone, then even blood doping. It was a whole lot," Zabel told Süddeutsche Zeitung.
"In 2003 I got a re-infusion [of blood] before the Tour de France," said Zabel.
Zabel is sorry for having lied at the 2007 press conference where he had stated that he only doped during the 1996 Tour de France but had stopped immediately due to the side-effects of EPO.
"Above all I wanted to keep my life, my dream job as a pro cyclist," said Zabel. "I loved it so much, this sport, the travelling. This egoism, it was simply stronger."
Zabel won the green jersey at the Tour de France six consecutive times, from 1996 to 2001, plus won 12 stages at the French Grand Tour. Recently Lance Armstrong was stripped of his seven Tour de France wins. Perhaps Zabel will now be stripped of his green jerseys?
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