Fabian Cancellara (RadioShack Leopard) will line up for Sunday’s Tour of Flanders as a red hot favourite to win his second Ronde. The 32-year-old’s career has been built on a combination of time trialing domination and one-day success, with the Tour of Flanders providing him with both agony and ecstasy.
Cancellara’s first Tour of Flanders came in 2003 but his first top-ten would have to wait until 2006. In 2009 he famously snapped his chain on the Koppenberg and was ruled out of contention but he bounced back a year later to take a memorable win, mercilessly dropping Tom Boonen on the Kapelmuur.
A year later and despite being in a similarly rich vein of form he was forced to settle for third place as Nick Nuyens used brains over brawn to capture a thrilling victory.
After crashing out of Flanders last year with a broken collarbone, Cancellara is back for revenge and after his startling win at E3 Harelbeke he's poised to be one of the most important animators in the race. Win or lose, there’s little doubt that Cancellara will leave his mark on Flanders once again.
In this exclusive video with Cyclingnews, Cancellara describes why the Tour of Flanders is such a special race and what a rider needs to win one of the most demanding races in cycling.
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
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.
