Fabian Cancellara
Fabian Cancellara is an ex-professional cyclist who raced from 2001 to 2016 for Mapei, Fassa Bortolo, CSC and Trek.
One of a select trio of riders to have won Paris-Roubaix and the Tour of Flanders three times, alongside arch rival Tom Boonen and Johan Museeuw, he is the only racer who can add the Strade Bianche triple to that glittering statistic – first across the line in Siena at four year intervals between 2008 and 2016.
"Spartacus" was also a formidable time trialist, arguably the finest male ever against the clock. Four times world champion, twice Olympic champion – plus silver in the road race at Beijing 2008 – his final race as a professional cyclist came in the TT at the Rio Olympics in 2016, where he triumphed over second-placed Tom Dumoulin by a staggering 47 seconds.
Seven of his eight Tour de France stage wins came in time trials or prologues, whilst his sole road stage victory in 2007 was one of the all-time greats, taking a flyer from the bunch in the final kilometre and holding off the charging sprinters by metres at the line.
Cancellara also won three Vuelta a España stages, as well as Milan-San Remo (2008) and overall GC at Denmark Rundt (2006), Tirreno-Adriatico (2008), Tour de Suisse (2009) and Tour of Oman (2010).
Alongside various business interests – and being a Cyclingnews columnist, of course – Cancellara is a founder of the Tudor Pro Cycling team, currently racing at UCI Pro Team level.
Latest articles by
Cancellara's Classics Column: Surprised but not surprised by Girmay
By Fabian Cancellara published
Analysis Fabian Cancellara gives his verdict on Biniam Girmay’s stunning Gent-Wevelgem performance, plus Wout van Aert and the build-up to Flanders
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Latest on Cyclingnews
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Cancellara's Classics column: After Flanders-Roubaix double, Mathieu van der Poel should ride Liège-Bastogne-Liège
How the Hell of the North was an Alpecin-Deceuninck show from start to finish -
Cancellara's Classics column: New Arenberg chicane will have consequences at Paris-Roubaix
Mathieu van der Poel’s Spanish trip was the ideal way to prepare for Ronde-Roubaix double -
Cancellara's Classics column: Mathieu van der Poel will break the Tour of Flanders record, it's just a matter of time
Alpecin-Deceuninck come up big for the world champion on the big occasion
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Cancellara’s Classics column: Attack might be Mathieu van der Poel’s best form of defence in chaotic Tour of Flanders
How the absence of Van Aert and Stuyven changes the dynamic of the Ronde for the world champion -
Cancellara’s Classic column: Mathieu van der Poel is human and Lidl-Trek are real contenders
Pedersen’s Gent-Wevelgem triumph after team effort shows that nobody is unbeatable in cycling -
Cancellara's Classics column: Don't overlook the mental aspect of the Van der Poel-Van Aert duel
Peerless Van der Poel triumphs over under-pressure Van Aert, though history shows nobody is unbeatable at Flanders and Roubaix
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Cancellara’s Classics column: Visma-Lease A Bike are dominant, but they can destroy themselves too
Wout van Aert and Visma may outgun the peloton, but tactics-wise and racing-wise Opening Weekend showed they're far from flawless -
Cancellara's Classics column: Bad luck and good decisions separate Van der Poel and Van Aert at Paris-Roubaix
A tale of two punctures for Jumbo-Visma -
Fabian Cancellara’s Paris-Roubaix preview
While the Van Aert-Van der Poel rivalry returns, our Classics columnist keeps an eye on the outsiders