Looking at 2009 With Cancellara

Paris-Roubaix, Milan-San Remo, Tirreno-Adriatico, three time trial World Championships, Olympic time trial champion, 15 days in the Tour de France leader’s jersey, Tour de Suisse, Tour of Denmark, several Swiss national championships and a whole bunch of victories on time trials and stages in the biggest Pro Tour stage races.

The list of triumphs is of almost infinite magnitude for Fabian Cancellara who since 2006 has been associated with the current Team Saxo Bank. This year alone, the 186 cm tall professional rider won the prologue in both the Tour de France and Vuelta a Espana and he won the ITT World Championship on home ground in Mendrisio, Switzerland. But putting his finger on the biggest victory seems like a harder task:

“It is really difficult to point out the biggest victory this year. It is easier to identify the most significant achievements that have had the greatest personal impact on me. For me it’s not just about the victory. It matters how I win. The World Cup time trial in front of my home audience was as a unique moment that I will never forget. It was specifically memorable to feel the atmosphere and the encouragement from my fans and it gives me the motivation and ability to make the body burn inside when it truly has to hurt in order to have a slight chance of winning”, says Fabian Cancellera from his hometown of Wohlen, near Bern, continuing:” More so, the time trial and overall victory in the Tour de Suisse and the prologue of the Tour de France are highlights of this season and since then I’ve been riding a wave of important victories with two stage wins in the Vuelta and the World Championship in Mendrisio. It has given me great morale and motivation after a somewhat disappointing spring where the results did not meet my own expectations”.

Watch video with Cancellara winning the World Championships

As a time trial specialist the Team Saxo Bank-rider, however, generally wins races throughout the season. This year he won his first victory in the Tour of California in February and latest he took the World Cup TT in late September. The long season is hard and arduous and there is not much time for other activities than training and participating races where there is a huge ongoing pressure from the outside world:

“There is always plenty of pressure when I am doing a time trial. Everyone expects me to win every time and it’s this kind of mental pressure that I have to deal with. I have my own expectations though and they are much more important. I am not letting other people’s expectations get on my nerves. Instead, I am being motivated by them and I, just like everyone else need support from colleagues, fans and friends in order to achieve my goals. The support is like gasoline in my engine”, says the strong Swiss.


The race season is now over and like any other cyclist, Fabian Cancellara spends the dark hours of the season recharging the batteries:

“Now I enjoy these autumn months where I have the opportunity to spend precious time with the family and friends who because of the tight race and training program must do without me for long periods throughout the year. Now, I am busy relaxing and enjoying spending time with the people close to me. To keep myself in shape, I play tennis and do some jogging. In addition, I’ve received a fantastic mountain bike from Specialized which makes me feel like a small kid every time I take it out for a ride in the woods. It is good cardiovascular training and it gives me a great opportunity to exercise my coordination ability and technique. From now on, I increase the training volume in preparation for next year’s season and the hours on the road are intensified gradually”.

But before the Swiss road race champion enters 2010, he will participate with the rest of the team in the annual survival camp with former Special Forces soldier, B. S. Christiansen:

“I am excited to see what BS has in store for us. It is rarely boring when we get together and it is particularly exciting to go on a training camp at the new resort, Playitas which is presumably warmer than the autumn in Bern. This training camp is one of the things that make Team Saxo Bank particularly unique through the activities which bring us closer together than on many other teams. I am looking forward to the social contact with colleagues and friends on the team and I think it’ great fun being active in a different way than the usual training”.

After 14 days at the new resort, the first races are soon being held in Australia and California but Fabian Cancellara is not yet ready with his personal calendar for 2010:

“It is too early to tell which races I will be focusing on in the coming season but I am very motivated to do well in the spring classics where I would like to get a rematch but I will talk with Bjarne Riis on the further details. For me it is important to have objectives as focal points throughout the season which can keep me going. Additionally, like all other athletes I need support from fans, teammates and friends. The support has been incredibly intense this year and I am extremely grateful for the attention and support I have received during the races and I am looking forward to another great season on one of the world’s best cycling teams”, concludes Fabian Cancellara.

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