Fabian Cancellara, one of the greatest riders of all time, is on the phone. He’s sitting patiently, wearing jeans and a neat white T-shirt. It’s the first time I’ve ever seen him not in Lycra and not travelling at 30mph on a bike. He catches my eyes and rolls his apologetically. Finally, he puts down his mobile and says: “Sorry, trouble with my childcare plans.” It’s wonderfully levelling that even the man known as “Spartacus” has to deal with the same domestic aggro that plagues the lives of us mortals. He’s here to talk about Wiggle’s new ultra-lightweight, shake-dry rain jacket for cyclists (ironically it’s 25C and there isn’t a cloud in the sky) and to share some riding tips and tales from his wealth of experience.
Martin: You spent 20 years in the saddle Fabian, did you feel a sense of relief when you retired two years ago?
Fabian: No, not relief, but I did feel proud I could stop on my own terms. I think it’s special that I could end my career at the highest level of the sport.
Martin: Do you still ride? What do you do now?
Fabian: Yes, I definitely still ride. It will always be my passion. On a bike I have my freedom, my time. I’m full of energy. I am an ambitious person – I was an ambitious athlete – and these days I want to inspire people to get moving, to get on their bikes.
Martin: Le Tour starts this weekend. Did you prefer riding the three-week tours or the one-day classics?
Fabian: For me, it was the classics. If it’s one day, you hunt for one full day and not for weeks, trying to defend. They do in three weeks what I used to do in one day.
Martin: Which of your titles are you most proud of?
Fabian: Luckily, I have many to choose from. But I think winning an Olympic gold in Rio was the biggest high.
Martin: For amateur riders and beginners, what tips would you give for enjoying their bike races?
Fabian: The priority is that you need to like what you’re doing. You want to ride because you want to explore every day, discover new things and be with nature. If you only play football because of Messi or only cycle because of me, you will soon get bored. But if you also cycle because you love riding a bike, that’s the best. It’s a hard sport, but it’s also a sport that brings you a lot of experiences and new skills for your life. Ride because you want to ride – and don’t overtrain.
Martin: You were famous for your descending skills. How did you keep your nerve at such high speeds?
Fabian: You have it or you don’t have it. This is what descending comes down to. For the riders who don’t have it, going downhill will be difficult.
Martin: When you watch the Tour, what memories will it bring to mind?
Fabian: It will take me back to the incredible things I saw on the road. Winning the Tour with the team, winning stages, wearing yellow… It’s a crazy hard race, and keeping the right mindset is a challenge. There were days it was hard; there were days it was good. And then there were the days I had no idea how I did it.
Fabian Cancellara was at Wiggle to promote the Gore C7 ShakeDry Stretch Jacket (wiggle.co.uk)
Cool kit
A super-bright bike light that also doubles as a super-sharp video recorder… The new generation of Cycliq’s integrated, rear-facing bike camera and safety light is engineered to give cyclists pin-sharp video recording, a powerful safety light and impressive battery life. It comes with 1080p HD camera with audio; 100-lumen rear light; 7-hour battery life; smart video looping; and weighs just 110g. £169, cycliq.com
Email Martin at martin.love@observer.co.uk or follow him on Twitter@MartinLove166
