Erik Zabel is now a member of the ProTour council, the group that has been set up by the International Cycling Federation (UCI) to manage the ProTour. There are 13 members on the council, discussing basic questions around the ProTour. The council's President is Italian Vittorio Adorni.
Zabel is one of two Germans on the committee. The second one is Dr. Michael Hinz, who is a spokesperson for Upsolut Sports AG, a sports event organizer. Upsolut's most prestigious race is the Hamburg Cyclassics, and race. Zabel won in 2001.
Zabel retired from a successful cycling career at the end of last season with more than 200 victories to his name. He currently functions as the sprint coach for the American Columbia-HTC team, and plays an important role in Mark Cavendish and André Greipel's preparations for the races.