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| |  Wednesday, 26 June, 2002, 18:42 GMT 19:42 UK Telekom The German team have made it clear that this year they plan to centre their attentions on Erik Zabel.
Jan Ullrich, 1997 Tour winner four-times runner-up in five Tours, is absent with injury. Zabel already has six successive green jerseys under his belt. But he looks under stiff pressure for number seven from the rider who pushed him to the limit a year ago - Stuart O'Grady. A number of high profile sprinters will also be in the starting pack but Zabel's consistency. The fact that the team will be focusing solely on him should enable him to rack up jersey number seven. Central to Zabel's cause will be lead-out man Gian Matteo Fagnini, who has been picked for the Tour solely to help the German.
The team is not just about Zabel and, in Americans Bobby Julich and Kevin Livingstone, have two experienced riders capable of lasting the distance. They might also enjoy the absence of Ullrich, as could Kazakh Alexandre Vinoukorov. Perhaps the big surprise of the team's Tour preparations is the inclusion of Andreas Kloeden, who makes the team despite suffering from ongoing knee problems. Team manager Walter Godefroot has made it clear that the team will not be vying for the race lead, in the absence of Ullrich. the team will be aiming to notch up as many stage wins as possible. Telekom have grown restless by their lack of success in recent seasons in France. They took the yellow jersey two years in a row courtesy of first Bjarne Riis (1996) and Ullrich the second year. But they have since had to make do with second best behind Lance Armstrong and the US Postal team. | |
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