Team Saxo Bank’s Olympic time trial champion Fabian Cancellara has decided he will take the start in this Sunday’s Tour of Flanders.
The twenty-eight year-old former Paris-Roubaix winner has been inactive for several weeks, his problems starting with sickness just after he took the leaders jersey on the opening day of the Tour of California.
The Swiss rider said he will be riding in Flanders to support his teammate Karsten Kroon. Kroon has shown good form in the semi-classics leading up to next Sunday’s big event, forcing the move that caused winning break in Brabantse Pijl this past weekend.
“If Fabian is not super, then he will have no problem working for his teammates. He knows the course and has a lot of experience. His knowledge can help the team,” said Saxo Bank team director Lars Michaelsen.
Cancellara’s bad luck with health has prevented him from defending his titles in both Tirreno-Adriatico and Milan-Sanremo. To complicate matters, Saxo Bank will have to do without the help of trusty Austrailian Stuart O’Grady, who is recovering from a broken right collarbone, punctured lung, and broken rib on his back – all the result of a crash in Milan-Sanremo.