Velochimp: Astrochimp on Cycling

The new squad in town next year will be Milram, that features the sprinting duo of Erik Zabel and Alessandro Petacchi. They will form an Italian-German team whose focus is on their sprinters. The question most everyone will have is willl Zabel be working as the last leadout man for AleJet, or will they try to split their duties or both? The Velonews article linked below has some quotes from Zabel about his ambitions for next year. Although Zabel does not have the same kick that got him numerous green jerseys and 4 Milan San Remo wins, he would still like to win one more Primavera.

Zabel, also a four-time winner of the prestigious one-day classic Milan-San Remo, added: “A perfect scenario for me would be a mass sprint of 14 or 15 riders.”

So, does this mean that this years Milano-SanRemo winner Petacchi will be helping Zabel win? Or is Zabel delusional about which races he will try to win next year? He will most certainly get full tem support for the Tour de France if Petacchi decides to skip the race again, but what if AleJet wants to go back to France come July? How will they split the leader roles and who will be the last man in the Milram leadout train? Seems like Petacchi and Zabel have much to discuss in the winter training camps. Whatever the result, Zabel is newly motivated and reaslises that he has to up his game to get leadership with Petacchi on the same team.

This setup will help both riders throughout the year. There may be an internal competition between Petacchi and Zabel where they force each other to perform better. Or we could see Zabel try to change his act a bit, by being the leadout man for Petacchi in the big races and then going for more spring classics and other prizes. Also, if AleJet does ride the Tour with Zabel, they can split out the leadership roles. Petacchi will try to win as many races as possible in the first week during the flat stages. Then, once the peloton hits the mountains and Petacchi heads home, Zabel will be the man for the sprint stages…Sounds plausible.
Pettachi and Zabel team up on new Milram squad