He's ALWAYS close...

[DBR X6 RIDER]

...and sometimes he pulls 'em off. If there's one constant in the pro peleton, it HAS to be Erik Zabel. He's always there in the big finishes - both early, mid and late-season. He wanted to do something special today in Paris-Tours as it was his final race with T-Mobile after 13 years of service with them. Mission accomplished.
http://www.cyclingnews.com/photos/2005/oct05/paristours05/cycling-protour-fra-zabe-28.jpg

It's also good to see that he didn't celebrate prematurely like he did a couple of years ago at Milan-San Remo.:blah:

[jaydee]

Yeah. Good for Erik. Too many second places for him this year. And it lets T-Mobile know what they're throwing away. Zabel will probably win another classic or two, but Jan will never win another TdF.