An exhausted Fabian Cancellara on the ground in the Roubaix velodrome(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Fabian Cancellara shares a moment with his wife after his Tour of Flanders win(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Fabian Cancellara will ride the Vuelta a España as preparation for the world championships in Florence but it may prove to be the only Grand Tour that the Swiss rider competes in this season.
During the off-season, Cancellara had already hinted at his reluctance to line up at the Tour de France this year and it now appears that his hopes of a first Giro d’Italia participation since 2009 will remain unfulfilled.
Cancellara is currently resting after a successful classics campaign that saw him win the Tour of Flanders, Paris-Roubaix and E3 Harelbeke, and RadioShack-Leopard manager Luca Guercilena has suggested that he will return to racing at the Tour of Belgium on May 22.
“The thing 100 per cent certain is that he will prepare for the world championships in Florence by riding the Vuelta,” Guercilena told Het Nieuwsblad.
As for Cancellara’s immediate plans, Guercilena said that he was unlikely to be in Naples for the start of the Giro on May 4. “He was advised to rest for fourteen days by the doctor so the Giro d’Italia is as good as excluded,” he said. “The Tour of Belgium is an option, not the Tour de France.”
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