Fabian Cancellara signs a jersey for a Saxo Bank fan at the team's Fuerteventura training camp.(Image credit: Daniel Benson)
Fabian Cancellara en route to a dominating win at the 2009 time trial world championship in Mendrisio, Switzerland.(Image credit: Sirotti)
World time trial champion Fabian Cancellara has reiterated his desire to tackle the world hour record. However, he would not go so far as to name a date or location, only confirming that it was still one of his goals.
Cancellara, unquestionably the worlds best time trial specialist, is preparing for the 2010 season at Saxo Bank's training camp in Fuerteventura. He will take aim at the Classics this season, with his sights set firmly on the Tour of Flanders, as he tries to add another Monument to his wins in Paris-Roubaix and Milano-Sanremo.
The hour record, however, is an event that Cancellara believes has lost some of its prestige in recent years and that it requires the interest of more riders.
"It's lost its importance and some of its honour. Before every big champion did it. Guys like Rominger, Hinault, Indurain, Merckx, they all did it and now the current champion is Ondrej Sosenka and nobody talks about it," he told Cyclingnews.
Despite showing more than an interest in the event, the Swiss national champion admitted that such an attempt would not be easy and that it would take considerable preparation, scheduling and training.
"The hour record is a goal but there's no time set for that. It's a big project. It's not just a ride on the track and then you're done. It's more than that. You have to find the training, the bike, the track and I think that if I'm honest there are not that many riders who can do all of that."
Cancellara stormed to victory in the world time trial championships in Mendrisio, Switzerland last year, winning by nearly a minute and a half and he believes that if he can devote time to the attempt he could raise the bar substantially.
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"With everything I've won in time trials I think it could be something good for me. I still have some other goals that I want to reach. But when I take on the record it has to be to set a long distance. I don't want to beat it by 100 metres."
Daniel Benson was the Editor in Chief at Cyclingnews.com between 2008 and 2022. Based in the UK, he joined the Cyclingnews team in 2008 as the site's first UK-based Managing Editor. In that time, he reported on over a dozen editions of the Tour de France, several World Championships, the Tour Down Under, Spring Classics, and the London 2012 Olympic Games. With the help of the excellent editorial team, he ran the coverage on Cyclingnews and has interviewed leading figures in the sport including UCI Presidents and Tour de France winners.
