Fabian Cancellara (Trek-Segafredo) won his third Strade Bianche and showed his rivals that he will again be the rider to beat in the Spring classics. But after 16 years as professional he insisted that no amount of success, or money, would convince him to race on for another season.
Cancellara will be 35 on March 18, the day before this year’s Milan-San Remo, and it will be his last ride in the Italian Classic before he goes on to ride his last full spring campaign. No amount of success will change his mind about retiring at the end of the season.
“People keep telling me that I’m not old and that I should carry on. It happened in Mallorca where I won, in Dubai and in Algarve where I won the time trial. Today I won too but it’s not a matter of winning or getting a huge contract for another two years and carrying on,” he explained in his winner’s press conference, an hour after beating Zdenek Stybar and Gianluca Brambilla (Etixx-QuickStep) and Peter Sagan (Tinkoff).
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“I could easily ride for more years but that’s not what I want. I’ve got 16 years in the pocket and as I’ve always said, this is the last year. Whatever comes there won’t be another decision, no Hour Record, no World Championships. I could win a lot more but winning is not everything in life. I always say that cycling is part of life but it’s not all my life.”
“My decision to retire came out as I was racing. It came out like a gut feeling. I enjoy riding my bike, I know my race plan and know it’s the last time, so I can enjoy it even more, I can enjoy my freedom.”
“I have ambitions and plans for the future but for sure I won’t put a number on my jersey to compete in the bunch against the other guys.”
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