This morning, interview with Erik Zabel before the stage.
The reporter:
"Well, we have this schmuck here in the team, who said at the beginning=20
of the Tour that this Zabel guy seem to haven gotten a little bit older, =
and doesn't win as much.
Now he's saying the this Zabel guy might win the green jersey.
What are you telling schmucks like him?"
Zabel, laughs:
"Ahh, look, when I was for instance watching the European Championships=20
[note: Soccer, where the german team look quite bad], I was also running =
my big mouth. This belongs to watching sport."
Question
"What happened on that stage when Kl=F6den didn't let you pass?"
Zabel (laughs)
"Well, we just wanted to show aspiring racers how not to do it."
And, while I'm at it, in the movie H=F6llentour about the 2003 Tour, when=
=20
Aldag, Zabels teammate, talked about how he felt with Erik in the stage=20
after Zabel had badly grazed his hadn't and wasn't barely able to ride,=20
Zabel, with a straight face, chipped in:
"See, Rolf, that's the difference between us, when you had a broken rib=20
in the last tour, I didn't care at all."