When you’ve achieved many of your dreams as an athlete, deciding what to do next can be a huge challenge. Such was the obstacle facing Swiss cycling star Fabian Cancellara in the Summer of 2016. He’d just captured his second individual time trial Olympic gold medal in Rio — eight years after topping that event in Beijing and snagging silver in the men’s road race — highlights of a career that also saw him win four World Time Trial titles, four Vuelta a España stages and eight Tour de France stages.
Perhaps the only thing he was certain of was that his love of the sport was too great to leave it behind completely. So he settled on a rather modest goal: saving the future of Swiss cycling. With the help of a perhaps surprising ally, Swiss watchmaker Tudor, an endangered national program began a resurrection. By 2019, a development team was in place, and this year, Tudor Pro Cycling officially became a UCI pro team, featuring 20 riders, nearly half hailing from Switzerland.
At this point, the team is really just getting into gear, but with the support of Swiss humans, watches, bikes and equipment, the future looks bright. So we caught up with Cancellara, 42, on his recent visit to NYC, before a sweet group ride around the city. As the Tour de France gets rolling, here are his thoughts on the burgeoning team, watches, bike essentials, roadside snacks and advice for everyday riders.
First off, tell me about the watch you're wearing right now.
A really special one because I was at Watches & Wonders, and then suddenly, a small box appeared. And what is special? I have my initials [on the inside]. This is from the new collection. It's not like with wine. A bottle of wine is different because you drink and then it's gone. A watch is always there.
Do you have an everyday watch you wear more often?
Right now this is my day watch. I'm also wearing a lot of Black Bay. We have the Team Edition I'm going to wear after we ride. For me, whatever the day is, it feels just right. I don't wanna say it's like my underwear. Underwear you change every day, but a watch just feels nice. It's just part of who I am and what I do.
Is there a particular type of watch you prefer to wear on the bike?
Personally, I would love to have one that's even more specific, a bit of a sporty watch. But we always have to consider the heritage, and it has to fit in the brand history of Tudor itself. This is the DNA. For them [cycling] is new, for us [Tudor] is new. And I think that's something cool, that no one knows what will come and people are curious, inside and outside the watch world. When you go deep, [back to] 1926, almost a hundred years anniversary, what Tudor is representing, it's nice. It's special.
What gets you excited about the Tudor Pro Team? What makes it different from other teams you've been with?
I mean of course, before, I was self-employed. I was the leader of the team as a rider, but I was never owning or making decisions in that team. Now we have the situation that I'm owning a team. Swiss human performance, this is what we stand for, and it's like a pyramid. With bricks to build, everyone has potential to support and help to build this pyramid or to build this house. I'm just trying to build another wall in the front of this house to protect this house. I'm in a perfect place where I have time to care and believe we can make differences with these athletes. This is what drives us and it's special and I'm super happy.
What would you define as success for the team? What's a goal you have right now?
One day to win a Grand Tour with a Swiss rider will be the ultimate thing. But to come to that victory, you need to build everything first and that's for me the success. The journey. Because you can win and you can lose, [but] if you don't ride together, I don't believe that in the end, you're going to win a bike race.
You are known as an inspiration and mentor to younger cyclists. What's the number one piece of advice you give to a young rider who's struggling?
Just have fun and enjoy what you do and don't put too much pressure on yourself, because that just destroys everything. I started cycling just as a pleasure, just riding out in nature and exploring and then, of course, I joined the cycling club and it was still fun because young people can do variations. You can do cyclocross, gravel, mountain biking, pump track, BMX, downhill, whatever kind of discipline. Just be open because it guides you on what is your will to do. It's not always to one day become a professional. Have fun at the beginning.
What would you say are the most essential pieces of gear for cyclists? Besides the bike, which we will talk about...
Yeah the bike you need, otherwise you don't go forward (laughs). But I mean it's like a watch — if everything’s not working, you stand on the road. It's from the wheel, it's from the chain, it's from the crank, it's the combination.
Are there any unusual or surprising things you bring with you on rides?
I just mostly bring too much clothing with me (laughs). Nothing crazy. Nothing special. I have what I have. I mean, of course, the rain jacket is only there when you get cold, but a jacket is always somehow with me. Even here, the only warm stuff I have is actually my rain jacket.
And what's the rain jacket?
Oh it's Assos. It's part of the team kit. But I think it's just the whole setup. I mean, you're gonna see later, I have a really cool bike. And one thing special about the bike now here is, it's the BMC SLR MPC Masterpiece. It’s not a bike built in Asia. It's the bike built in Germany. This is also where it comes to the detail, when it comes to carbon, when it comes to the finishing way they did this frame. It fits to what we do, it fits to where we are.
BMC, being a Swiss company, was that something you [specifically wanted]?
We are generally pushing, I mean, of course we have sponsors for the team but also I have been an ambassador for years with those partners. It’s nice that we are not with a multi-brand together, so it's Abus helmets, it's Schwalbe tires, it's SRAM, it's DT Swiss, it's Assos, it's BMC, it's Suplest. Suplest is the shoe provider we have — it's not a must that everyone needs to wear it because we support them, but it's a local brand from my hometown. It's from the region of Bern, and that's cool. I try to support [local] brands. I have tri-dimensional sunglasses here, built 5K away from my hometown. So we do things differently and help smaller brands rise up, and as much as we can raise up from Switzerland, I think is good.
A lot of the riders are Swiss too, right? I was looking at the roster...
Yeah, we have quite a few Swiss and those with the development team, the under-23 team. This is where we come from. This is something really, really important for me, it's important for Tudor, it's where everything has started. It started with not a two-hour coffee, it started with a five-hour conversation about life, about how I see things, and from there steps came because, of course, they saw. I think [Tudor] could go everywhere they want. But no, they choose our project, they choose this direction together.
Riding around New York City, I see a lot of badly worn helmets, a lot of seats that are way too low. Are there any cycling faux pas you see riding around, you know, any PSAs?
(Sighs/laughs) Sometimes I pass people and say, “hey, maybe you put this a little bit higher, put the helmet right.” For me, that's a native thing. If I pass people and I can give them small advice, I'm doing it. That's why, I mean, "Look pro, go slow."
Ha ha, what does that saying mean to you?
I mean you have a super cool bike, high-end clothing, a nice watch of course, good lifestyle, all the Lycra, and you look pro, but ... we go slow. Because you need to train. You need to dedicate. You need to do 30,000 kilometers. And that's not a problem. You want to have your kit dialed, but then mentally and physically, you still have to [go slow].
Do you have a favorite bike snack?
Bakery.
Like croissants and stuff?
No, not croissants but ... depends on the bakery, on the situation and on the heat. Or an ice cream sometimes can be nice. I'm not a pro anymore (laughs).
Anything major I'm forgetting to ask, something you wanted to share?
One thing: Everyone that rides a bike is an ambassador for the bike. Because the bike is two wheels, it’s accessible, it’s touchable, it’s reachable. I mean, golf, tennis, football, hockey, baseball, all the sports, basketball, you watch. But you never play in those buildings, or those places. Cycling, you can do. You can come to Europe, you can do the Alps, you can be next to the team. And everyone is an ambassador that rides the bike. If it's kids, if it's messengers, and if it's professionals.
