Fabian Cancellara aims to close out his final season on top in Trek-Segafredo’s black and white colours. On Wednesday in Treviso, when new co-sponsor Segafredo joined, he said his aim was the classics and the Giro d’Italia’s pink jersey.
The Swiss Classics and time trial star will start his season in Mallorca, Spain, and build to the spring Classics – the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix – and continue towards the Italian three-week tour in May.
He has worn the leader’s jersey in the Tour de France and Vuelta a España, but never the pink one at the Giro, having ridden on just two occasions in 2007 and 2009.
“The pink jersey has more passion from the people even if it’s not the yellow one from the Tour,” 34-year-old Cancellara said.
“I want to close out the year on top like I wanted to in the last years. Just that in 2015 last year I had my bad luck.”
Cancellara wore the yellow jersey for less than 24 hours at the Tour before a crash and fractured L3 and L4 vertebrae forced him out. It was a sign of his season, a series of highs and lows.
Fabian Cancellara crashes out of the Tour de France on stage three
With the American team having a new Italian sponsor, coffee giant Segafredo, Cancellara has reason to put the Giro on his 2016 programme.
“[The 2016 season] will be one big push. I still have my goals even if it’s my last year. I want to make everyone hurt, get on the podium of the Classics, be at the Giro, where I still need the pink jersey,” Cancellara continued. “I’ll have the prologue to try for in the Netherlands and in Italy, we have the links with our new sponsor and it’s where I began my career with Mapei.”
Unlike Wiggins, who hinted at continuing on after the Rio Olympic Games through 2017, Cancellara will pull the brakes on his career in 2016. He is due to take up an ambassador role with Trek bicycles.
“Maybe I could go on for three years, but I selected this next one to end it. It’s not just a last year, one of farewells, but one where I want to do some harm out there and make my rivals suffer.”
