Tom Boonen

Tom Boonen at the start of Milan-San Remo in 2012 .
Personal information
Full name	Tom Boonen
Nickname	Tommeke Tornado Tom
Born	(1980-10-15) 15 October 1980 (age 31)  Belgium
Height	1.92 m (6 ft 4 in)
Weight	82 kg (180 lb)
Team information
Current team	Omega Pharma-Quick Step
Discipline	Road
Role	Rider
Rider type	Classics Rider, Sprinter
Professional team(s)
2002 2003–	US Postal Quick Step-Davitamon
Major wins
Grand Tours Tour de France Points classification (2007) 6 Stages Vuelta a España 2 Stages Stage Races Tour of Belgium General Classification (2005) Tour of Qatar General Classification (2006, 2008, 2009, 2012) Points Classification(2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2012) Tour de Picardie General Classification (2004) Points Classification (2004) Single-Day Races and Classics Paris–Roubaix (2005, 2008, 2009, 2012) Tour of Flanders (2005, 2006, 2012) Gent–Wevelgem (2004, 2011, 2012) E3 Prijs Vlaanderen (2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2012) Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne (2007, 2009) Grote Scheldeprijs (2004, 2006) National Road Race Champion (2009) World Road Race Champion (2005)
Medal record Road bicycle racing Competitor for  Belgium World Championships Gold 2005 Madrid Elite Men's Road Race National Championships Gold 2009 Belgium Elite Men's Road Race Silver 2007 Belgium Elite Men's Road Race Bronze 2006 Belgium Elite Men's Road Race Gold 2001 Belgium Under 23 Men's Road Race Silver 2000 Belgium Under 23 Men's Road Race
Infobox last updated on 14 April 2012

Tom Boonen pronounced [Boʊnən]^[1] (born 15 October 1980 in Mol) is a Belgian professional road bicycle racer who won the 2005 World Road Race Championship. He is a member of the Omega Pharma-Quick Step team, and is considered a single-day road race specialist with a strong finishing sprint. His personality and looks, combined with his successes, also turned him into Belgium's main male sports idol of the mid-2000s, but he incurred censure after testing positive twice for the use of cocaine.^[2]

Career overview[link]

At the start of 2002 Boonen rode for the US Postal team, finishing third in Paris–Roubaix after an early breakaway. Fellow Belgian rider Johan Museeuw had escaped off the front of the race to a solo victory, and team captain George Hincapie crashed in a slippery section of the course leaving Boonen to ride for himself. Boonen's performance in the race compelled Museeuw – his childhood hero – to publicly declare Boonen his natural successor.^[3]

However, Boonen was not completely happy at US Postal, claiming he did not get enough chances to ride for himself. Towards the end of the year he announced he would leave the team, despite being under contract, and joined Quick Step-Davitamon at the start of 2003.^[4] The 2003 season, however, did not go well for Boonen, who saw lacklustre performance due to fatigue and a knee injury. In this season Museeuw was the undisputed team leader for the spring classics campaign.

The 2004 season saw Boonen rise up to the challenge to win the E3 Prijs Vlaanderen, the classic race Gent–Wevelgem and the Grote Scheldeprijs. In addition, he also won two stages of the Tour de France including the prestigious final stage in Paris, just as Museeuw did in 1990.

2005 – Winning Ronde, Roubaix and Worlds[link]

2005 was the year in which Boonen firmly established himself as a competitor on the world stage. Winning the Ronde van Vlaanderen, Paris–Roubaix, E3 Prijs Vlaanderen, and finishing second in the Omloop "Het Volk" (behind teammate Nick Nuyens), he stamped his authority on the cobbled Spring Classics. Boonen also became the first cyclist in history to win the Ronde van Vlaanderen, Paris–Roubaix, and the World Cycling Championship in the same season.

In his Ronde van Vlaanderen victory Boonen was considered the strongest sprinter in the final group of riders. However, instead of waiting for the final moment, he attacked a few kilometers from the finish to the surprise of other riders in the group, and stayed away for a solo victory. One of the other riders in the peloton, Erik Dekker, afterwards declared that "I'm happy that I am near the end of my career, since with a cyclist like Boonen the spring classics will be rather boring the coming years".^[5] In his Paris–Roubaix victory, he entered the Roubaix velodrome in the leading trio, and waited until the last moment before launching a sprint that saw him beat American George Hincapie and Spaniard Juan Antonio Flecha.

In the Tour de France, he won the second and the third stage. In this edition, Boonen claimed the green jersey after the second stage. However, he was forced to retire from the race after stage 11, after multiple crashes. The jersey was reliquished to Norwegian Thor Hushovd, who held on for the rest of the tour, becoming the eventual winner. On September 25 he became the twenty-first Belgian World Champion after the World Cycling Championships in Madrid. A six-man breakaway was reeled in in the final straight by the group that he was in, before he powered home ahead of Alejandro Valverde. He is the first Belgian since Museeuw, in 1996, to wear the rainbow jersey. With these victories he secured second place in the overall standings of the 2005 UCI ProTour.

At the end of the year Boonen won several awards: Kristallen Fiets (Crystal Bicycle), Vélo d'Or (Golden Bicycle), Trofee voor Sportverdienste (Trophy For Sporting Merit), Belgian Sportsman of the year and Belgian Sports Personality of the Year.

2006 season[link]

In 2006, Boonen again had an incredible start to the season, highlighted by winning the Ronde van Vlaanderen again, but he was unable to defend his Paris-Roubaix title the week after. Leif Hoste, Peter Van Petegem and Vladimir Gusev were initially credited with 2nd through 4th places (1'23" down), but were later disqualified by the race jury for illegally riding through a closed level-crossing. This promoted world champion and pre-race favourite Boonen into 2nd place, behind Fabian Cancellara.

After the incredible start, Boonen came back to racing in the Tour of Belgium where he won the second and the third stage. Before the start of the 2006 Tour de France, he claimed that he considered himself the strongest and smartest sprinter. However, he did not win a stage in the first week, as he was beaten by his sprinter competitors Robbie McEwen and Óscar Freire. In spite of this, he was able to claim the yellow jersey for the first time in his career, but lost it in the first time trial to time trial specialist Sergei Honchar.

Boonen signing in at Tarbes during the 2006 Tour de France

Boonen abandoned the Tour de France during the 15th stage – 187 km from Gap to l'Alpe d'Huez – when he was unable to reach the summit of the Col du Lautaret. According to the team manager, Boonen lost a lot of weight during the Tour, and got a much needed rest period where he was able to regain it.

With regained strength, at the Eneco Tour of Benelux he won three stages. However, he was unable to defend his world title at the UCI Road World Championships, held on a circuit that was less flat than in Madrid 2005, and lost his title to Quick Step-Innergetic teammate Paolo Bettini, finishing ninth.

2007 season[link]

In his 2007 season, Boonen went off to a great start again by winning five stages at the Tour of Qatar and finished second overall after teammate Wilfried Cretskens. He later won several Flemish races like Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne and E3 Prijs Vlaanderen, but failed to win any classics. His best effort in that respect was a 3rd place in Milan – San Remo, resulting in an overall slightly disappointing spring season.

Next Boonen took part in the Tour de France. In the absence of main rival Alessandro Petacchi, and after an early injury to Robbie McEwen, he met expectations by winning two stages (stages 6 and 12), and winning the Maillot vert competition. It was the first Belgian green jersey since Eddy Planckaert's in 1988.

2008 season[link]

Boonen at the 2008 Paris–Roubaix

Boonen began his 2008 season by winning four stages and the overall and points classifications in the Tour of Qatar. In the Ronde van Vlaanderen, his first main goal of the season, he showed good form but took on a defensive role when his teammate Stijn Devolder escaped and subsequently won. The week after, he outsprinted Fabian Cancellara and Alessandro Ballan in the final 500m to win the Paris–Roubaix. On 10 June 2008, several sources claimed that Boonen was negotiating with Bouygues Télécom about a contract, which sporting director Jean-René Bernaudeau confirmed. The move to Bouygues would involve two or three riders going with him, with the names of Wilfried Cretskens and Kevin Hulsmans frequently named.^[6]

On that same day though, it was revealed that Boonen had tested positive for cocaine in a test on May 26. Since this was outside competition, and cocaine is not considered a performance enhancing drug, Boonen did not face sanctions by the UCI or WADA. During a press conference the day after, he offered his apologies and team manager Patrick Lefevere stated that, since these were considered difficulties of a private nature, team Quick Step maintained its confidence in him. Despite the absence of official sanctions, Boonen was immediately barred from the Tour of Switzerland and later from the Tour de France.^[7][8] In February 2009 a Belgian court found him guilty of cocaine use but decided not to hand down criminal sanctions against Boonen, saying that he has "been punished enough".^[9][10]

2009 season[link]

Boonen celebrating victory in the 2009 Paris–Roubaix; his third victory at the race.

Boonen began his 2009 season by winning a stage and the overall and points classifications in the Tour of Qatar. He also won Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne for the second time in his career. In the Ronde van Vlaanderen, his first main goal of the season, he showed good form but as in 2008 he had to take on a defensive role when his teammate Stijn Devolder escaped and subsequently won the Ronde for the second time. The following week Boonen won Paris–Roubaix for the third time.

On April 27, Boonen tested positive for cocaine in an out of competition test for the third time (the first occasion, in November 2007, had not previously been made public) and was suspended by his team, Quick Step, on May 9,^[11] and re-entered competition with them in the 2009 Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré. Shortly after, in June, he won his National Championship. After a long legal struggle he was allowed to enter the Tour de France one day before the start on 3 July 2009. Citing illness, he withdrew from the Tour on 18 July 2009, before the fifteenth stage.

He returned to racing in the Eneco Tour where he won the third stage by beating Tyler Farrar in the sprint. After that he entered the Vuelta a Espana to prepare him self for the final part of the season. There, he finished second in the prologue behind time trial specialist Fabian Cancellara. He crashed during the 7th stage of the Vuelta, a 30km time trial. He nevertheless posted a respectable time, losing just 1'03, and ended the day second overall behind Cancellara. He withdrew from the Vuelta during the 13th stage, still suffering from the consequences of his crash during the 7th stage. He finished his season with a second place in Paris-Tours, after being beaten in a sprint from a three-men group by fellow countryman and defending champion Philippe Gilbert.

2010 season[link]

This section requires expansion.

Boonen in the 2010 Tour of Flanders

The beginning of 2010 saw Boonen take third place in the Tour of Qatar, winning two stages, which was followed by victory in Stage 5 of the Tour of Oman. He also won Stage 2 of Tirreno-Adriatico, before finishing second to Óscar Freire in the first monument of the season, Milan – San Remo. Boonen finished second to Fabian Cancellara in the E3 Prijs Vlaanderen – Harelbeke, a result replicated at the Tour of Flanders. Boonen finished fifth in Paris–Roubaix the following week. He missed most of the rest of the season – including the Tour de France, the Belgian and the World Championships – due to tendinitis around his left kneecap which was caused by crashes at the Tour of California and the Tour de Suisse. He returned to racing in October at the Circuit Franco-Belge and Paris-Tours.

2011 season[link]

This section requires expansion.

Boonen on his way to victory in Gent–Wevelgem

Boonen began the season with first place on the opening stage of the Tour of Qatar. He won Gent–Wevelgem to take his only major classic victory of the season, as in the Tour of Flanders he finished fourth and in Paris–Roubaix he abandoned after a fall. Boonen also crashed on Stage 5 of the Tour de France, and although he finished the stage, injuries forced him to abandon on Stage 7. In the subsequent Vuelta a España, Boonen fell yet again, which also made him miss the World Championships.

2012 season[link]

This section requires expansion.

Boonen won Paris–Roubaix for the fourth time, tying the record held by Roger De Vlaeminck.

Boonen began the 2012 season well, as he won Stage 7 of his first race of the season, the Tour de San Luis. In February, he won the Tour of Qatar overall, also winning two stages and the points classification, and finished second to Sep Vanmarcke in Omloop Het Nieuwsblad. Boonen next rode in Paris–Nice, winning Stage 2. Boonen took his first one-day classic victory of the season at E3 Harelbeke, and followed it up with victory in Gent–Wevelgem two days later. Boonen's form made him a clear favourite for the Tour of Flanders, and he won the sprint from fellow breakaway members Filippo Pozzato and Alessandro Ballan to take victory in the monument for the third time in his career making him a record holder alongside Achiel Buysse, Fiorenzo Magni, Eric Leman and Johan Museeuw. He is also the first cyclist ever to win the Flemish cobblestone quadruple E3 Harelbeke, Gent–Wevelgem, Tour of Flanders, and Paris–Roubaix in the same year. His Roubaix victory was his fourth, matching the record held by Roger De Vlaeminck for 35 years. In winning the Tour of Flanders, and Paris Roubaix he became the first person ever to complete the double twice in their career.

After an incredible spring classics campaign, Boonen returned to racing at the Tour of California.

Personal life[link]

Boonen used to live in Balen, in the Flemish Region of Belgium until moving to Monaco in late 2005. He stayed there a few years until deciding to move back to Belgium in early 2012.^[12]

Palmares[link]

Monuments results[link]

This table shows Tom Boonen's results in the five cycling monuments.

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Tom Boonen

• Official site
• Quick.Step-Innergetic Cycling Team

Sporting positions
Preceded by Magnus Bäckstedt Stuart O'Grady Johan Vansummeren	Winner of Paris–Roubaix 2005 2008, 2009 2012	Succeeded by Fabian Cancellara Fabian Cancellara Incumbent
Preceded by Steffen Wesemann Nick Nuyens	Winner of Ronde van Vlaanderen 2005, 2006 2012	Succeeded by Alessandro Ballan Incumbent
Preceded by Jurgen Roelandts	Belgian National Road Race Champion 2009	Succeeded by Stijn Devolder
Awards
Preceded by Peter Van Petegem	Crystal Bicycle 2004–2006	Succeeded by Sven Nys
Preceded by Lance Armstrong	Vélo d'Or 2005	Succeeded by Paolo Bettini

v t e UCI Road World Champions – Men's road race 1927 Alfredo Binda 1928–1929 Georges Ronsse 1930 Alfredo Binda 1931 Learco Guerra 1932 Alfredo Binda 1933 Georges Speicher 1934 Karel Kaers 1935 Jean Aerts 1936 Antonin Magne 1937 Éloi Meulenberg 1938 Marcel Kint 1946 Hans Knecht 1947 Theo Middelkamp 1948 Briek Schotte 1949 Rik Van Steenbergen 1950 Briek Schotte 1951 Ferdi Kübler 1952 Heinz Müller 1953 Fausto Coppi 1954 Louison Bobet 1955 Stan Ockers 1956–1957 Rik Van Steenbergen 1958 Ercole Baldini 1959 André Darrigade 1960–1961 Rik Van Looy 1962 Jean Stablinski 1963 Benoni Beheyt 1964 Jan Janssen 1965 Tom Simpson 1966 Rudi Altig 1967 Eddy Merckx 1968 Vittorio Adorni 1969 Harm Ottenbros 1970 Jean-Pierre Monseré 1971 Eddy Merckx 1972 Marino Basso 1973 Felice Gimondi 1974 Eddy Merckx 1975 Hennie Kuiper 1976 Freddy Maertens 1977 Francesco Moser 1978 Gerrie Knetemann 1979 Jan Raas 1980 Bernard Hinault 1981 Freddy Maertens 1982 Giuseppe Saronni 1983 Greg LeMond 1984 Claude Criquielion 1985 Joop Zoetemelk 1986 Moreno Argentin 1987 Stephen Roche 1988 Maurizio Fondriest 1989 Greg LeMond 1990 Rudy Dhaenens 1991–1992 Gianni Bugno 1993 Lance Armstrong 1994 Luc Leblanc 1995 Abraham Olano 1996 Johan Museeuw 1997 Laurent Brochard 1998 Oscar Camenzind 1999 Óscar Freire 2000 Romāns Vainšteins 2001 Óscar Freire 2002 Mario Cipollini 2003 Igor Astarloa 2004 Óscar Freire 2005 Tom Boonen 2006–2007 Paolo Bettini 2008 Alessandro Ballan 2009 Cadel Evans 2010 Thor Hushovd 2011 Mark Cavendish

v t e Tour de France points classification winners 1953 Fritz Schär 1954 Ferdinand Kübler 1955–1956 Stan Ockers 1957 Jean Forestier 1958 Jean Graczyk 1959 André Darrigade 1960 Jean Graczyk 1961 André Darrigade 1962 Rudi Altig 1963 Rik van Looy 1964–1965 Jan Janssen 1966 Willy Planckaert 1967 Jan Janssen 1968 Franco Bitossi 1969 Eddy Merckx 1970 Walter Godefroot 1971–1972 Eddy Merckx 1973 Herman van Springel 1974 Patrick Sercu 1975 Rik Van Linden 1976 Freddy Maertens 1977 Jacques Esclassan 1978 Freddy Maertens 1979 Bernard Hinault 1980 Rudy Pevenage 1981 Freddy Maertens 1982–1983 Sean Kelly 1984 Frank Hoste 1985 Sean Kelly 1986 Eric Vanderaerden 1987 Jean-Paul van Poppel 1988 Eddy Planckaert 1989 Sean Kelly 1990 Olaf Ludwig 1991 Djamolidine Abdoujaparov 1992 Laurent Jalabert 1993–1994 Djamolidine Abdoujaparov 1995 Laurent Jalabert 1996–2001 Erik Zabel 2002 Robbie McEwen 2003 Baden Cooke 2004 Robbie McEwen 2005 Thor Hushovd 2006 Robbie McEwen 2007 Tom Boonen 2008 Óscar Freire 2009 Thor Hushovd 2010 Alessandro Petacchi 2011 Mark Cavendish

Peter Velits

Personal information
Full name	Peter Velits
Born	(1985-02-21) February 21, 1985 (age 27) Bratislava, Slovakia
Team information
Current team	Omega Pharma-Quick Step
Discipline	Road
Role	Rider
Rider type	All-Rounder
Amateur team(s)
2004 2005–2006	Dukla Trencin Konica Minolta
Professional team(s)
2007 2008–2009 2010–2011 2012–	Wiesenhof Team Milram Team HTC-Columbia Omega Pharma-Quick Step
Major wins
Tour of Oman (2012) Vuelta a España, 2 Stages U-23 Road World Champion (2007)
Medal record Competitor for  Slovakia Road bicycle racing World Championships Gold 2007 Stuttgart U-23 Men's Road Race
Infobox last updated on 19 February 2012

Peter Velits (born February 21, 1985 in Bratislava) is a Slovak professional road racing cyclist for Omega Pharma-Quick Step.^[1] His career highlights include winning the 2007 UCI Road World Championships - Men's Under-23 Road Race and the 2012 Tour of Oman.^[2] His twin brother, Martin Velits rides on Omega Pharma-Quick Step as well.

Palmares[link]

^[3]

Grand Tour General Classification results timeline[link]

Grand Tour	2008	2009	2010	2011
Giro	–	–	–	–
Tour	58	32	–	19
Vuelta	–	–	2	–

References[link]

External links[link]

• Peter Velits at Trap-Friis.dk. Archive copy at the Wayback Machine (archived 24 May 2011)
• Palmares on Cycling Base (French)

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Peter Velits

This biographical article relating to Slovak cycling is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

Fabian Cancellara

Cancellara before the 2011 Tour of Flanders
Personal information
Full name	Fabian Cancellara
Nickname	Spartacus[1]
Born	(1981-03-18) 18 March 1981 (age 31) Wohlen bei Bern, Switzerland
Height	1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)[2]
Weight	82 kg (180 lb; 12.9 st)
Team information
Current team	RadioShack-Nissan-Trek
Discipline	Road
Role	Rider
Rider type	Time-Trialist/Classics Specialist
Amateur team(s)
2000	Mapei-Quick Step (stagiaire)
Professional team(s)
2001–2002 2003–2005 2006–2010 2011 2012-	Mapei-Quick Step Fassa Bortolo Team CSC Leopard Trek RadioShack-Nissan-Trek
Major wins
Grand Tours Tour de France 7 Stages Vuelta a España 4 Stages Stage Races Tirreno–Adriatico General Classification (2008) 4 Stages Tour de Suisse General Classification (2009) Points Classification (2008, 2009) Single-Day Races and Classics World Time-Trial Champion (2006, 2007, 2009, 2010) National Time Trial Championships (2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008.) National Road Race Championships (2009, 2011) Olympic Time-Trial Champion (2008) Paris–Roubaix (2006, 2010) Ronde van Vlaanderen (2010) Milan – San Remo (2008) E3 Prijs Vlaanderen (2010, 2011) Other Velo d'Or (2010)
Medal record Competitor for  Switzerland Road bicycle racing Olympic Games Gold 2008 Beijing Time trial Silver 2008 Beijing Road race World Championships Gold 2006 Salzburg Time trial Gold 2007 Stuttgart Time trial Gold 2009 Mendrisio Time trial Gold 2010 Melbourne Time trial Bronze 2005 Madrid Time trial Bronze 2011 Copenhagen Time trial
Infobox last updated on 17 March 2012

Fabian Cancellara (born 18 March 1981) is a Swiss professional road bicycle racer for UCI ProTeam RadioShack-Nissan-Trek. A time trial specialist, he is a four-time World Time Trial Champion and is the current Olympic gold medalist. He is also a winner of Tour of Flanders, Paris–Roubaix (twice), Milan – San Remo, Tirreno–Adriatico, Tour de Suisse, Strade Bianche (twice), and four prologues of the Tour de France.

Career[link]

Early years[link]

Cancellara was born in Wohlen bei Bern, a municipality near the city of Berne, Switzerland to an Italian mother and a Swiss-German father. He discovered cycling at the age of 13 after falling in love with an old family bike that he had found in the garage and immediately gave up football to concentrate on cycling.^[3]

Cancellara's cycling skills began to blossom at an early age, when he impressed as a time trialist and dominated Swiss junior cycling. Yvan Girard, Swiss national junior team coach from 1997 to 2005, was quoted saying that Cancellara was head and shoulders above everyone else in the time trials.^[1] He won the junior World Time Trial Championship in both 1998 and 1999 and at the age of 19 he came in second at the 2000 U-23 World Time Trial Championship, after which he turned professional with Mapei-Quick Step, then one of the strongest teams in the world.

2001–2002[link]

Cancellara rode as a stagiaire for the Mapei-Quick Step team in late 2000 before joining the team for the 2001 season as a member of the "Young Riders Project". Cancellara's first victory as a professional came at the prologue of the Tour of Rhodes, where he also won the overall final general classification. For 2002 the Mapei team split into two formations per UCI regulations, the "Top Team" with 25 riders and the GS-III "Gruppo Giovani" (youth group) to develop young talents, which Cancellara joined with other riders including Filippo Pozzato, Michael Rogers and Bernhard Eisel.^[4] Giorgio Squinzi, the head of Mapei firm, later said in an interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport that he took Cancellara and Pozzato all the way from the Junior category to Mapei's top team, in order to let them avoid the Under-23 category where he suggested that doping was even worse than among professionals. Squinzi also said that Cancellara was going to be "The future Miguel Indurain".^[5] During his two seasons with Mapei, Cancellara used his time trialling skills to great effect, winning several individual time trials and a total of eleven victories.

2003–2005[link]

Following the cessation of sponsorship of Mapei at the end of 2002, Cancellara joined Fassa Bortolo to work as a lead-out man for Alessandro Petacchi in 2003. He won the prologues of the Tour de Romandie and the Tour de Suisse as well as a time trial at the Tour of Belgium. Cancellara's break-through season was 2004. He finished fourth in the classic race Paris–Roubaix, and he won the prologue at the Tour de France ahead of Lance Armstrong, earning the yellow jersey which he wore for two stages. He also won an individual time trial at the Tour de Luxembourg and bunch sprints at Setmana Catalana and the Tour of Qatar.

In 2005, Cancellara was one of the favourites for Paris–Roubaix, but a flat tyre 46 kilometers from the finish line^[6] meant he finished 8th, almost four minutes behind winner Tom Boonen. Later that year, he came third at the World Time Trial Championship in Madrid. He also won a stage at Paris–Nice and the individual time trials of Setmana Catalana and the Tour de Luxembourg, where he finished second overall with the same time as the winner, Laszlo Bodrogi.

2006[link]

Fabian Cancellara in the 9th stage of the 2007 Tour de Suisse

When the Fassa Bortolo team was discontinued, Cancellara signed a three-year contract with Team CSC, starting from the 2006 season. Before the 2006 Paris–Roubaix he said he had never been better prepared^[7] and by accelerating on the cobblestones in the forest of Arenberg, just less than 100 kilometers from the finish line, he forced a selection of 17 riders to compete for the win. When Discovery Channel rider Vladimir Gusev attacked on the Le Carrefour de l’Arbre cobblestones with 17 kilometers to go, Cancellara followed him, before passing Gusev for a solo break-away. Cancellara quickly gained 30 seconds on the other favourites and riding the last kilometers like a time trial^[8] he kept expanding his lead for the remainder of the race^[9] finishing one and a half minutes ahead of the riders closest to him. He became only the second Swiss winner of Paris–Roubaix, following Heiri Suter in 1923. During the season he also won the individual time trials of Tirreno–Adriatico, Volta a Catalunya and Post Danmark Rundt, where he also won a stage and the overall classification. Later that year, he won the World Time Trial Championships in Salzburg, Austria.

2007[link]

After a slow start to the season, Cancellara hit form in June, winning three time trials in Switzerland: the prologue and Stage 9 of the Tour de Suisse, and the National time trial Championships. In the Tour de Suisse he held onto his yellow jersey until Stage 4, where it passed on to teammate Fränk Schleck.

On July 7, Cancellara won the prologue of the Tour de France in London, defeating Andreas Kloden of Astana by 13 seconds. According to online measurement published by www.srm.de his average power output was over 550W. During Stage 2, he was caught up in a very large crash which brought down an estimated thirty riders. He crossed the finish line nursing his left hand but appeared to be fine during the yellow jersey presentation. He subsequently won the third stage in Compiègne, catching and overtaking a breakaway group of four in the final seconds of the stage. Cancellara held the yellow jersey until stage 7, the tour's first mountain stage.

On September 27 he won his second UCI Road World Championships Time Trial with an advantage of 52 seconds over Laszlo Bodrogi.^[10]

2008[link]

Fabian Cancellara in the Prologue of the 2008 Tour of California

Cancellara won the prologue of the Tour of California ahead of Olympic track gold medalist Bradley Wiggins in his first race of the season. He then won the second edition of Italian Monte Paschi Eroica ahead of Alessandro Ballan. During the Tirreno–Adriatico he showed his improvement in stage races, winning the individual time trial to Recanati as well as the overall classification. Just a few days later in the Milan – San Remo classic monument race, Cancellara broke away from a leading group in the final kilometres to win. In the 2008 edition of Paris–Roubaix, Cancellara finished 2nd behind Tom Boonen in a sprint finish.

In preparation for the second half of the season, Cancellara won the prologue of the Tour de Luxembourg and two stages of the Tour de Suisse, both stages won with solo attacks a few kilometres from the finish. Despite being unable to win any stage at the Tour de France, he finished second in the last individual time trial behind Stefan Schumacher, who was later found to have tested positive for EPO. Cancellara helped his teammate Carlos Sastre win the overall classification. In the Olympic Road Race in Beijing, Cancellara won the bronze medal behind Spaniard Samuel Sánchez (gold). He produced an audacious and unexpected burst of speed over the last five kilometres to escape a following group of 10, then a chase group of 2, then the leading group of three just inside the last kilometer, bringing the last two chasers with him covering a substantial 21 second gap of time deficit in less than three and a half minutes over 4 kilometers. He finished third in the six man uphill sprint,^[11] behind Davide Rebellin, who was later stripped of the silver medal for a doping offence, and Cancellara was eventually presented with the medal in December 2010.^[12] Cancellara later won the Olympic Individual Time Trial, beating CSC-Saxo Bank teammate, Gustav Erik Larsson. Cancellara decided not to defend his World Time Trial title in Varese citing mental fatigue.^[13] He was named Swiss Male Athlete of the Year at the Credit Suisse Sports Awards.^[14]

2009[link]

Cancellara won the prologue of the Tour of California for the second year running. However, he then had a dip in form and could not defend his title at the Tirreno–Adriatico while not performing to his usual high level in any of the spring classics. He recaptured his best form at the Tour de Suisse by winning the prologue and staying with the leaders on the mountains to put him in a good position to win the overall on the final time-trial. He did win comfortably by over two minutes in the general classification while also winning the points jersey.^[15] Cancellara won his first national road racing crown on 28 June 2009, outsprinting Mathias Frank at the line^[16]

He placed 1st in stage 1 of the 2009 Tour de France, a 15 km (9.3 mi) individual time trial. In the team time trial (4th stage), he was able to keep the yellow jersey with Lance Armstrong a mere 22 hundredths of a second behind. It was not until the seventh stage, the first true mountain stage, that Cancellara lost the yellow jersey. After falling behind the leaders with less than 10 km (6.2 mi) to go in the stage, he was unable to bridge the gap due to the sharp grade of the Arcalis mountain-top finish. He lost the yellow jersey to Rinaldo Nocentini, falling to 39th place overall.

In the 2009 UCI Road World Championships, Cancellara was a favourite in both the road race and time trial disciplines. He dominated the time trial event to take the coveted rainbow jersey by nearly a minute and a half, the biggest winning margin ever in the World Championship time trial. Despite many considering him one of the strongest riders in the road race, he was unable to convert his form into an unprecedented second rainbow jersey.

2010[link]

Cancellara on his way to a record fourth victory in the 2010 UCI Road World Championships Elite Men's Time Trial

At the beginning of the year, Cancellara won the Tour of Oman. On March 27, he won the E3 Prijs Vlaanderen riding away from Tom Boonen and Juan Antonio Flecha in the last 2 kilometres. On April 4 Cancellara became only the 12th cyclist to have ever won the opening three "monuments" of the cycling year (over a full career) when he won the Tour of Flanders with two devastating attacks. The first took place on the Molenberg with over 30 kilometres remaining. Only two-time winner Boonen could follow. The second attack, on the famous Muur van Geraardsbergen managed to shake Boonen who eventually finished in second over a minute behind the Swiss national champion.^[17]

Cancellara repeated his 2006 Paris–Roubaix victory with a vigorous attack over 40 kilometres (25 mi) from the finish, ending the other pre-race favorites Boonen and Juan Antonio Flecha's chances of victory, and Cancellara crossed the line 2 minutes ahead of Thor Hushovd, who took second, and Flecha, who took third.^[18] Cancellara indicated his future goals could include the final two great cycling monuments: Liège–Bastogne–Liège and Giro di Lombardia.^[19]

In the 2010 Tour de France, Cancellara won the 8 km prologue by 10 seconds over the second place finisher Tony Martin. This was the third Tour de France prologue win of his career. Along with claiming the maillot jaune for the stage victory, Cancellara also donned the maillot vert, for leading the points classification. In the individual time trial, Cancellara secured his second stage win of the 2010 Tour de France, again defeating Tony Martin.

At the 2010 UCI Road World Championships in Melbourne (Geelong), Australia, Cancellara won a record fourth elite men's world time trial championship, blazing around the 45.8 km course in 58min 09.19sec, more than a minute ahead of his nearest rival, David Millar of Great Britain.^[20]

He has made an agreement with Bjarne Riis to end his contract with Team Saxo Bank one year before time. He joined Leopard Trek for the 2011 season.^[21]

2011[link]

Fabian Cancellara with Sylvain Chavanel during the 2011 Tour of Flanders

Cancellara was the overwhelming favourite for E3 Harelbeke, Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix after his dominating performances of 2010. By switching to Leopard Trek, Cancellara did not have the high calibre domestiques that he did in 2010. But after winning E3 Harelbeke seemingly by himself, the nickname "Superman" was given to him – due to his seemingly unnatural and unstoppable power.

Cyclingnews after Cancellara's 2nd and 3rd placings at Paris-Roubaix and Tour of Flanders respectively. After the spring classics he won the time trial in the Tour de Suisse the prologue of the Tour de Luxembourg and he led his team to the victory in the team time trial of the 2011 Vuelta a España. He was overpowered by the upcoming talent Tony Martin in both the time trial of the Tour de France and the time trial of the UCI Road World Championships.

2012[link]

In the first races of the 2012 season, Cancellara showed a good form: he powered to a second victory on the gravel roads of the Strade Bianche and took a victory in the closing time trial of the Tirreno–Adriatico. In the final of the first monument of the year, the 2012 Milan – San Remo, he was the strongest rider during the descent of the Poggio climb, but was outsprinted for victory by Simon Gerrans. He was in great form for the Belgian spring classics, but a fall and material malfunction kept him from playing a part in the final of both the E3 Harelbeke and Gent–Wevelgem. Cancellara was one of the favourites to win the renewed Tour of Flanders but played no part in the final due to a crash in the feed zone. He suffered a four-part fracture of the right collarbone which ruined his spring campaign.^[23][24]

Controversy[link]

In June 2010, Cancellara said that claims made in a YouTube video that he had used an electric motor fitted to his bike to assist him during races were "so stupid I'm speechless".^[25] The YouTube video edited together a report by Davide Cassani,^[26] cycling commentator and former professional rider, in which he suggested professional cyclists had used the technology (without any proof of existence of this technology apart rough simulation) with footage of Cancellara. ^[27] The UCI have said that whilst they are not investigating any specific teams or riders, it would review the need for a new bicycle inspection system to detect such cheating.^[27] However, sports scientist Ross Tucker cast doubt on the accusations made by the amateur video editor concerning Cancellara.^[28]

Career highlights[link]

Monuments results[link]

This table shows Fabian Cancellara's results in the five cycling monuments.

Footnotes[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Fabian Cancellara

• Official site
• Team Saxo Bank profile
• Trap-Friis profile
• Fabian Cancellara profile at Cycling Archives