Velochimp: Astrochimp on Cycling

AFP PHOTO / FRANCK FIFE

Erik Zabel must be high on spilling the beans. After his painful admission to using EPO in the 90s, Zabel now admits to causing the crash in stage 2 that took out all but 25 racers going into the finish. The dicey crash through a narrow road cut off most of the peloton and looked worse that it actually was. The only casualty from the race was Discovery Channel’s Tomas Vaitkus who needed thumb surgery. The pictures of racers limping home holding their arms was striking. But once everyone was cleaned up and bandaged no one was that badly off.

Zabel must want a totally free conscience and seems ready to give up information on just about anything. Zabel admitted to shifting quickly into the path of Liquigas racer Manual Quinzato. The touch of wheels cause the mass pile up.

In the team dinner last night Zabel also admitted to eating the last baguette and not offering it to anyone before chomping on it. Roommate Andrey Grivko confronted Zabel on the empty roll of toilet paper in the bathroom to which Zabel quickly spilled the beans and admitted he forgot to change it before he left.