Spartacus Signs Off With Olympic Gold

Cancellara unleashes a time trialling masterclass to crush the opposition and bring a golden end to an already glittering career.

- Richard Abraham

Fabian Cancellara’s perfectionism is legendary in cycling but even he pulled out all the stops for the Olympic Games time trial. He had the stickers taken off his bike; even the ones that were allowed to be there according to Olympic branding regulations. He laminated his race number and glued it to the back of his skin suit rather than using pins. According to Swiss press he even waxed and polished his time trial helmet to within an inch of its life.

Whether through aerodynamic gains or simply superstition, it helped bring the 36-year-old the victory he was looking for in his final year in the peloton after a season of Classics crashes, illness and near misses. First through all but one of the five splits, which showed the Swiss rider went out hard, hit a steady rhythm and then got faster and faster as the race progressed, Cancellara’s ride was a time trial masterclass.