Zabel wins Hamburg classic

Zabel celebrates a trademark triumph

Click here for results and standings

Deutsche Telekom rider Erik Zabel stayed in contention in cycling's World Cup by winning the HEW Cyclassics Cup in Hamburg.

It was Zabel's second World Cup victory of the season, having already won the opening Milan-San Remo race, and the seventh of his career.

A Zabel win looked unlikely earlier in the race when he suffered a flat tyre, but aided by his team he managed to catch up.

The German outsprinted two other riders over the last 50 metres, but he remains 69 points behind Erik Dekker, who finished in third place, after seven rounds.

That sprint was fantastic, right up my alley

Erik Zabel

Latvian Romans Vainsteins, now third in the overall standings, finished in second place after an exciting finish in which Tour de France runner-up Jan Ullrich lead out team-mate Zabel superbly.

Dekker started a sprint over the final kilometre but both Zabel and the Latvian pulled past him during the final stretch.

Zabel said: "That sprint was fantastic, right up my alley. It's especially nice because it was my first win in Germany."

Despite closing the gap on Dekker, Zabel, who won a record sixth green jersey in the Tour de France this year, is unlikely to compete in any more World Cup races this season.

Ulrich helped Zabel catch Dekker when he and Italians Davide Rebellin and Paolo Bettini opened up a gap with the pack late in the race.

Ulrich said: "At that point it was clear there was going to be a mass sprint, so we switched tactics and bet on Zabel's win."

France's Raphael Jeune had the longest breakaway attempt, at one stage leading by seven minutes while staying out front for more than 80km before he dropped out.

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Leading results in the 251 km HEW Cyclassics in Hamburg

1. Erik Zabel (Germany) Telekom 5 hours 58 minutes 58 seconds
2. Romans Vainsteins (Latvia) Domo-Farm Frites
3. Erik Dekker (Netherlands) Rabobank
4. Fabrizio Guidi (Italy) Mercury-Viatel
5. Andrej Hauptman (Slovenia) Tacconio Sport Vini Caldirola
6. Paolo Bettini (Italy) Mapei-Quick Step
7. Igor Astarloa (Spain) Mercatone Uno-Stream TV
8. Fabio Baldato (Italy) Fassa Bortolo
9. Werner Riebenbauer (Austria) Team Nurnberger
10. Sven Teutenberg (Germany) Festina

World Cup standings after seven races:

1. Erik Dekker (Netherlands) Rabobank 269 points
2. Erik Zabel (Germany) Telekom 200
3. Romans Vainsteins (Latvia) Domo-Farm Frites 186
4. Davide Rebellin (Italy) Liquigas-Pata 144
5. Gianluca Bortolami (Italy) Tacconio Sport Vini Caldirola