The relatively unsuccessful 2000 season brought an end to his work with Banesto. If the team wanted him back at all, then only under very strict conditions. Alex and his manager couldn't accept that and in September dropped a bombshell in the transfer market: Alex would be joining the German then-GSII Team Coast. Within a few weeks, the whole team was restructured, new riders were hired and the team started the new year as a GS-I team with great optimism.

The season started well for Alex, but, with the Deutschland Tour, the debacle started: He crashed, suffered a pelvic injury which was not correctly diagnosed, and therefore was not taken out of the race. Home in Switzerland, the injury was treated - one can't say healed - and he went to the Tour de Suisse. Because of his poor performance and accompanying press criticism, he fell into deep hole which he couldn't climb out of. The worst blow came in the Vuelta, where Jose Maria Jiminez, who is about the same age, won three stages of the race after being out of the top rankings for many years. Alex was on the brink of throwing in the towel and retiring from cycling. But with a lot of moral support from Raphael Schweda, he decided to give it another try and went into the 2002 season with renewed confidence and optimism.