Cycling highlights: Winning a monument is the greatest dream for many professionals. It's bitter when you're about to do it, are already cheering and are still being sprinted over. This is how it happened: Erik Zabel in 2004.
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Zabel is one of the most successful professionals of his time
Around the turn of the millennium, Erik Zabel had the best time in his career. From 1996 to 2001 he won the green jersey six times in a row in the Tour de France. This record was only recently broken by Peter Sagan. He also won numerous stages, silver and bronze at road world championships, the cycling world cup, German championships and important one-day races such as the Paris Tour, the Amstel Gold Race and the HEW Cyclassics in Hamburg.
Freire sprints past
However, Erik Zabel celebrated perhaps his greatest successes at a monument in Italy. Because at Milan - Sanremo the German triumphed in 1997, 1998, 2000 and 2001. Another victory - and thus the sole third place in the record list of "Classicissima" - was denied to him because he crossed the finish line too early in 2004 cheered and was caught by Oscar Freire. Zabel noticed this mishap as soon as it happened. Freire won and Zabel was the laughingstock. But "Ete" could console himself with the fact that he had previously won Milan - Sanremo four times.
Eric Zabel:
“I was almost certain to win. But this shadow passes me on the right, almost on the line.”