Take your 6 green jerseys & shove 'em!

Telekom is leaving Erik Zabel off their Tour team. This isn't like last year when Vinokourov was left off because an injury preventing him from training well. They just decided not to put him on the team.

Zabel is over the hill and clearly not as good as his former self. He hasn't won a Tour stage in a long time. His 6 green jerseys are a thing of the past. But, hey, he's still in the top 10 in the world. Yeah, top 10. Would you tell a top 10 rider and one of the greatest sprinters ever that he can't ride? And he's no Petacchi either. Zabel actually finishes the Tour, plus he's not a bad time trialist. Telekom needs the help in their team time trial.

If Zabel were in the lineup, I'd predict that he'd win 1 stage at most, and probably not even get that much. Although he can't rack up the stage wins, he's still a fine sprinter and a savvy racer. He'd certainly be in contention for the green jersey and give a top-5 finish, which is worth a little publicity and some prize money. But Telekom says no. This is ridiculous. What do they put in his place? They already have too many team leaders. They could put Sevilla and Guerini on the team with Zabel, so what advantage do they gain in this? None. Another dumb move by Telekom.

Erik, you were the best TdF sprinter we ever saw. It ought to end differently, but thanks for the memories!