# Why all the hype with Cancellara?



## respro (Jun 21, 2012)

I know he's a great rider but we all know the only reason he's wearing yellow is because he won the prologue. As soon as the mountains hit that'll be the last day in yellow for him. Anyone who's a great TT could be in yellow right now.


----------



## pulser955 (Apr 18, 2009)

How many riders in history have gotten to wear the yellow jersey for 26 stages of the tour?


----------



## redlizard (Jul 26, 2007)

respro said:


> I know he's a great rider but we all know the only reason he's wearing yellow is because he won the prologue. As soon as the mountains hit that'll be the last day in yellow for him. Anyone who's a great TT could be in yellow right now.


Well...ok. Exactly who at this point do you suggest deserves it more than the guy who rode the best TT and has the best overall time? And why didn't that person TT better, so that they could be wearing yellow?


----------



## jorgy (Oct 21, 2005)

Your first TdF, I presume? 

Just wearing yellow for even one stage is considered an honor. Most will never have a single yellow jersey in their palmares.

The jersey also brings visibility to the team's sponsors, which is the reason they spend advertising money on cycling teams.


----------



## dougydee (Feb 15, 2005)

respro said:


> I know he's a great rider but we all know the only reason he's wearing yellow is because he won the prologue. As soon as the mountains hit that'll be the last day in yellow for him. Anyone who's a great TT could be in yellow right now.


I hope you're enjoying your first TDF. Someone has to wear the yellow, doesn't mean you have to win the whole race though. It's a badge of honor to get to wear one same with winning a stage.


----------



## AndrwSwitch (May 28, 2009)

I don't pay good attention to pro cycling. But I get into the Tour every year.

So I hadn't figured out that Cancellara was riding for RadioShack. I was watching yesterday, and wondering why RadioShack was doing so much work to bring in the break. Then I figured it out.

Cancellara and his team aren't just phoning it in and resting on his good TT. They're working to keep him in the jersey. Last year, he managed to hang onto it into a few mountain stages. I don't expect we'll see much from him for a while. The peloton won't let him go and get more seconds, and barring accident, he and RadioShack are strong enough to prevent anyone else from eating into his lead in flat stages. Things'll get interesting in the mountains.

One of my teammates posted a video of Cancellara descending the other day. He'd had some bad luck with flats that day and been dropped. So he'd chased the rest of the race up one side of a mountain and caught them on his way down another. Clearly he's not just good at TT.

I want to see if Evans can do anything this year.


----------



## Local Hero (Jul 8, 2010)

It's not just his good TT. 

Of course he's not in the GC contention. But the man is bad to the bone. He's Spartacus


----------



## yurl (Mar 31, 2010)

Cancellara is a demi-god. there shall be no debate about it


----------



## Monk (Jan 28, 2012)

What hype? Everyone knows he's not a G.C. threat and the media has reported it as such. He's a great rider, well liked and appreciates his position in yellow. I haven't seen any undue or undeserved attention come his way?


----------



## Ridin'Sorra (Sep 7, 2004)

yurl said:


> Cancellara is a demi-god. there shall be no debate about it


This.

Clearly the OP may be a little out of touch with competitive cycling. It's not only his TT abilities and cycling doesn't end at the TdF.

He's got a great palmares (not only by TT'ing, or not exactly ) that many other cyclist would like to have.

Plus... the guy has such insane power that there were allegations that he had a motor in his bike. No joke. Turns out that there was no motor... just badassery coming out of this guy.

Also, to get a respectable nickname in the peloton, you really have to earn it. 

It's easy to be nicknamed "The Chicken" for being more pale than paper or "Big Mig" for being taller than average, for example. But good nicknames like "The Cannibal", "The Lion King" and "The Pirate" don't come easy. So to be called "Spartacus" is already a pretty huge compliment and not just "hype".


----------



## Timbuctoo (Apr 23, 2009)

Hmmm, if Cancellara can finish in the main bunch on stage 9 this Saturday then he'll remain in yellow for a lot longer than most would think. With the next TT two stages later he could extend his lead by quite a lot. No one will come close to him in any of the TTs this TDF. He could have the yellow jersey in Switzerland which I think he would be working hard to achieve.

Why is he so good? Because he can ride the wheels of everybody in the Peleton and stay away for up to 50km, see Roubaix a few years back. If he lost weight like Indurain then he would be a GC threat, especially in TDFs like this one.


----------



## jsedlak (Jun 17, 2008)

Don't forget that every time he pulls on the yellow jersey, everyone sees his sponsorship. Plus his team gets announced (more sponsorship advertisement). With no "real" GC contender this year, RSK are loving the exposure and are going to hold onto it as long as possible.



AndrwSwitch said:


> I don't pay good attention to pro cycling. But I get into the Tour every year.
> 
> So I hadn't figured out that Cancellara was riding for RadioShack. I was watching yesterday, and wondering why RadioShack was doing so much work to bring in the break. Then I figured it out.
> 
> ...


----------



## juno (Jul 18, 2008)

Plus he gets to ride a cool yellow bike!

He is one of the class acts in the Pro's. Always a good interview also. He is not weak in the mountains for sure, just not as good as the true climbers.

Never thought about the weight thing and him going for GC. Hmmm.... would like to see him be a GC contender some day.


----------



## weltyed (Feb 6, 2004)

juno said:


> Plus he gets to ride a cool yellow bike!
> 
> He is one of the class acts in the Pro's. Always a good interview also. He is not weak in the mountains for sure, just not as good as the true climbers.
> 
> Never thought about the weight thing and him going for GC. Hmmm.... would like to see him be a GC contender some day.


i like the fact he doesnt do anything crazy with the color scheme of his bike. but i keep thinking he is riding a neutral support rig...

it is interetsing he prefers the domane...


----------



## foto (Feb 7, 2005)

Ridin'Sorra said:


> This.
> 
> Clearly the OP may be a little out of touch with competitive cycling. It's not only his TT abilities and cycling doesn't end at the TdF.
> 
> ...


Or "bottle".


----------



## respro (Jun 21, 2012)

Its the old OP here! Maybe I wasn't clear enough in my OP. I do believe Cancellara is a World class cyclist. And winning just one yellow jersey makes you famous for life (which is well deserved). I agree with most of the posts so far except this being my first TDF. Been a fan for years and July for me is the favorite month of year for sports solely for the TDF. I watch every day. That includes each day since Lance retired. Maybe I should put it another way. In the first week of the tour if you win the Prologue you can keep it for several days unless a break away suceeds. All you have to do is stay in the peloton and keep up. You have your team around you and pulling for you. Now lets look at the mountains. There the draft is much less of a factor and its more of an individual effort. Take Thomas Voeckler, last year he took the Yellow and kept it until the Pyrenees. I've heard almost nothing of Voeckler this year. I admit that I feel a yellow jersey won in the mountains and kept for several days is worth more than a TT. I know that this creates emotional responses so I'm sorry if I've offended anyone. One more thing. If I was in the peleton and a massive pile up took out all the sprinters, the lead out trains, all the GC and their teams in the last 5K, and I won the stage you'd think I climbed mount Everest and beat the rest by 2hrs by the way I acted the fool!
best wishes, Respro


----------



## mmoose (Apr 2, 2004)

Rewatch the end of stage1. Don't watch Sagan sucking the wheel. Watch a strong man thrown down and grab the day by the balls, only to be beat by the single person who was able to sit on his wheel. (Nothing against PS, he did what he had to do. And when FC wanted him to come around, he couldn't -not without losing the day later)

FC may have gotten the jersey in the prologue, but he gave it full honor on day 1. He wears it now because he earned it.

(Taking the riders out of the equation, the course sets the table. By day1 having a significant bump at the end, it was meant/designed to gap the pure TT guys and move the jersey to someone more of the classics/strongman type. The Gilbert or Chavenel type.)

With the TT on Sunday, watch FC on Saturday. He'll have the team support to lose minimum time on Saturday and maybe retake the jersey Sunday.

Not hype to me. Just the buzz earned by his riding.


----------



## Drummerboy1975 (Mar 14, 2012)

If I were a pro cyclist, my nick name would probably be "Meat", as I look fabulous in my shorts.


----------



## forge55b (Jan 30, 2011)

But then he does it with a motor in his seatpost, clearly! What other rider has been accused of that climbing like a monster?


----------



## pr0230 (Jun 4, 2004)

*nick name*



Drummerboy1975 said:


> If I were a pro cyclist, my nick name would probably be "Meat", as I look fabulous in my shorts.


So you should be called Foot Long???


----------



## humble (Nov 23, 2007)

All that, and, he takes interview questions in four languages post stage!


----------



## namaSSte (Jul 28, 2004)

AndrwSwitch said:


> Cancellara and his team aren't just phoning it in and resting on his good TT. They're working to keep him in the jersey.


^^^this!


----------



## troutmd (Sep 7, 2007)

FC is more the a world champ TT specialist. He's as a multiple classic winner [ Paris–Roubaix (2006, 2010) Ronde van Vlaanderen (2010) Milan – San Remo (2008)].


----------



## OldEndicottHiway (Jul 16, 2007)

jorgy said:


> Your first TdF, I presume?
> 
> Just wearing yellow for even one stage is considered an honor. Most will never have a single yellow jersey in their palmares.
> 
> The jersey also brings visibility to the team's sponsors, which is the reason they spend advertising money on cycling teams.


Good answer.


That, and he is so pretty. Freaky pretty.


----------



## thechriswebb (Nov 21, 2008)

respro said:


> Its the old OP here! Maybe I wasn't clear enough in my OP. I do believe Cancellara is a World class cyclist. And winning just one yellow jersey makes you famous for life (which is well deserved). I agree with most of the posts so far except this being my first TDF. Been a fan for years and July for me is the favorite month of year for sports solely for the TDF. I watch every day. That includes each day since Lance retired. Maybe I should put it another way. In the first week of the tour if you win the Prologue you can keep it for several days unless a break away suceeds. All you have to do is stay in the peloton and keep up. You have your team around you and pulling for you. Now lets look at the mountains. There the draft is much less of a factor and its more of an individual effort. Take Thomas Voeckler, last year he took the Yellow and kept it until the Pyrenees. I've heard almost nothing of Voeckler this year. I admit that I feel a yellow jersey won in the mountains and kept for several days is worth more than a TT. I know that this creates emotional responses so I'm sorry if I've offended anyone. One more thing. If I was in the peleton and a massive pile up took out all the sprinters, the lead out trains, all the GC and their teams in the last 5K, and I won the stage you'd think I climbed mount Everest and beat the rest by 2hrs by the way I acted the fool!
> best wishes, Respro


The only reason you've heard little about Voeckler this year is because he is having knee problems during the Tour. Also, I don't know if you watch races other than the Tour but Tommy V had a pretty respectable spring classics campaign and got recognition for that. He also got a great deal of respect last year for his brutal defense of the yellow jersey in the mountains so I don't think that an argument that Voeckler didn't get fair recognition for his valiant effort 

Cancellara is more than a prologue specialist. There is a sort of rider that specializes in riding prologues and getting the jersey at the beginning of a stage race (think Chris Boardman) and trying to hold it as long as possible. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that and it is an extremely difficult thing to do and the riders that can do that deserve the jersey for as long as they can hold it. On the other hand, if Cancellara was that sort of rider and that was the _only_ thing that he did, you wouldn't hear as much hype about him as you do. The fact that he can do so many things well (prologues, long time trials, classics, breakaway wins in road stages) makes each of those individual things that much more impressive when he does them. He isn't just a guy who wins prologues and keeps the jersey for a while; he is an Olympic gold medalist who has been world champion and has won Paris Roubaix, Flanders, and multiple Grand Tour stages that also happens to win prologues and keep the jersey for a while. :thumbsup:


----------



## thechriswebb (Nov 21, 2008)

It should also be said that just staying in the peloton and finishing with the main group stage after stage is not nearly as easy as it looks on television. Riders compete for position at the front of the peloton in dangerous areas and it is very easy to get caught behind a crash or a split. At the end of a Grand Tour (last year is a very good example) a rider's skill at being able to stay out of trouble consistently at the front of the peloton through all of the "easy" flat stages can be a major factor in whether or not somebody can win the race overall. This is especially true in the first week of the Tour, when everybody is nervous and crashes and splits end the GC hopes of dozens of riders every year. If you are just "cruising" through the pack like some people think that everyone in the peloton does in flat stages, you will get left behind at some point. 

Dave Zabriskie was talking about this in an interview once. He said that his wife watches the races on television and gets frustrated when he gets caught behind a crash or split and loses time and asks him "why don't you just ride in the front?" He then said that it is easy to make that judgment watching a race on television but people don't know what it is actually like to be in a peloton of the best riders in the world trying to stay up front. This is a very difficult and important skill that should not be disregarded.


----------



## respro (Jun 21, 2012)

So that everyone knows where I stand, I'll be pulling for Cancellara as far as he can take it. I thinks as many yellows he's worn he should have the honor of winning the tour in MHO. The only thing I see that he lacks is his climbing ability over several mountain stages. If he could improve his climbing he would be a serious GC threat. He already has the ability to TT and to match any attacks on the flats or rollers.


----------



## MG537 (Jul 25, 2006)

Ridin'Sorra said:


> It's easy to be nicknamed "The Chicken" for being more pale than paper or "Big Mig" for being taller than average, for example. But good nicknames like "The Cannibal", "The Lion King" and "The Pirate" don't come easy. So to be called "Spartacus" is already a pretty huge compliment and not just "hype".


Before being called "the pirate" he was "elephantino", due to his ears. Marco hated that nickname. Back then, helmets weren't mandatory and he showed up wearing a bandana. He then became "il pirata", much better nickname than "elephantino" IMO.
Now back to regularly scheluded programming.


----------



## Mike T. (Feb 3, 2004)

respro said:


> I know he's a great rider but we all know the only reason he's wearing yellow is because he won the prologue. As soon as the mountains hit that'll be the last day in yellow for him. Anyone who's a great TT could be in yellow right now.


And your point is?


----------



## loskaos (Apr 26, 2009)

well without listing all FCs achievements i would like to point out that Spartacus is doing a comeback, last year he wasnt lucky and with this years injury, all his followers must be happy he is back in form, wearing yellow and with around 90 TT km to go.


----------



## Mapei (Feb 3, 2004)

OldEndicottHiway said:


> That, and he is so pretty. Freaky pretty.


Even with the perpetual five o'clock shadow.


----------



## coop (Jun 8, 2008)

For all the hype that Sagan is getting (well deserved), FC is the rider that I think most of would like to be most like. He is simply put, BADASS!


----------



## royalty (Aug 18, 2011)

To me, Faboo is a true God. I wish I could be more like him.
BTW I think that Johan Bruyneel is a happy man, because the team finally gets some good results this year. That should motivate the entire team. I hope Faboo can hold on to the yellow jersey through the weekend.


----------



## davidka (Dec 12, 2001)

For this question to be asked of Fabian shows that the OP just hasn't been paying attention. Watch the race with people who are more familiar with pro racing. There is so much more going on than you've been seeing in your years of TdF viewership. 

Fabian at his best is the single most powerful rider in the pro peloton and does things that just stymie his competition (attacking the leadout trains moving at full speed to win stages that should've gone to sprinters, bolting away from others on steep uphills when he's not a "climber" then riding minutes out of 5-10 man chase groups that are trying their hardest to bring him back). There are lots of great riders but Fabs is in a very rare class with Boonen and Gilbert as this generations supermen.


----------



## burgrat (Nov 18, 2005)

Cancellara is the man, pure and simple. He scares his opponents with his good looks alone! He possesses Kavorka, the lure of the animal, much like this man:


----------



## respro (Jun 21, 2012)

davidka, have you read all my posts in this thread?


----------



## foto (Feb 7, 2005)

respro, I think this is what you are getting at.

http://cyclocosm.com/2012/07/every-bonus-second-counts/


----------



## wblas3271 (May 12, 2012)

Look up "Hardman" in the dictionary and you will see Fabian's picture.


----------



## FlandersFields (Jul 16, 2010)

respro said:


> I know he's a great rider but we all know the only reason he's wearing yellow is because he won the prologue. As soon as the mountains hit that'll be the last day in yellow for him. Anyone who's a great TT could be in yellow right now.


And for how long exactly are you following cycling? One week?


----------



## vismitananda (Jan 16, 2011)

Fabian is one of the most gifted and nice person in the pro peloton, shall I say behind Jens Voigt? 

I like watching FC in yellow in every TDF he joins and is a leading powerful machine in his team.

I bet he will nick every time trial in this year's TDF.


----------



## foto (Feb 7, 2005)

Wow, a lot of dooshes in this thread.


----------



## Downshifter (May 30, 2011)

I thought the reason Spartacus was wearing yellow every day was that he had the lowest overall time of anyone in the Tour so far. Silly me.


----------



## respro (Jun 21, 2012)

Thanks for the link foto. Unfortunately, I don't have the skill or gifts that a proffessional writer has. I'm not able to express my opinions in a way that doesn't (rub people the wrong way) shall we say.


----------



## T0mi (Mar 2, 2011)

Why the hype ? Because you don't see that many guys in a yellow jersey attacking in the last km to beat sprint trains :






Fabian Cancellara - 2007 Tour de France (Compiègne) - YouTube


----------



## aclinjury (Sep 12, 2011)

The ability to TT is truth. No wheel sucking, no team strategy, just you and the bike.
Cancellara is one badass diesel engine on the flat. This kind of quality is quite endearing to most men and I'm pretty sure all women love his handsomeness. I'm jealous.


----------



## runningdud (Mar 17, 2005)

foto said:


> Or "bottle".


who was bottle?

my friends call me short cut cause i'll ride my cx bike and make my own road


----------



## PRB (Jun 15, 2002)

I lost all respect for Cancellara when he pulled that 'neutralize the race because the Bobbsey Twins crashed' trick in 2010.


----------



## longbeachbiker (Apr 29, 2011)

I admit it. When I'm biking by myself, I sometimes imagine that I'm Cancellara dropping the peloton from my wake. Him and Boonen are the baddest of the bad asses... he rides with flair and speaks the truth. Everybody talks about his 2010 Paris-Roubaix win, when he dropped Boonen like a sack of bricks as his greatest race, but his second at Paris-Roubaix in 2011 was an even greater ride. He bridged a monster gap by himself with pansy ass Hushvod refusing to take a single pull... greatest second place ride ever.


----------



## 67caddy (Nov 4, 2009)

All Cancellara did was beat the worlds best TT riders for his 5th Tour prologue win. Anybody could do this...... but they didn't. Fabian Cancellara did it. And his team rode at the the front for six days to preserve the lead. The guys is a freaking legend in sport. He and Boonen have defined the Spring cobbled Classics in the last few years. If Fabian doesn't deserve the spotlight, no one does.


----------



## aclinjury (Sep 12, 2011)

longbeachbiker said:


> I admit it. When I'm biking by myself, I sometimes imagine that I'm Cancellara dropping the peloton from my wake. Him and Boonen are the baddest of the bad asses... he rides with flair and speaks the truth. Everybody talks about his 2010 Paris-Roubaix win, when he dropped Boonen like a sack of bricks as his greatest race, but his second at Paris-Roubaix in 2011 was an even greater ride. * He bridged a monster gap by himself with pansy ass Hushvod refusing to take a single pull... greatest second place ride ever*.


That came to my mind too. Guys were sucking his wheel until he put the hammer down and decide to close the gap himself, and left everyone in his wakes. That was epic gap closure, pure TT'ing ability. There are plenty of wheel sucker sprinters (Sagan, Cavendish), plenty of wheel sucker climbers. But Canceralla is a lone wolf sort of rider, there's something about a lone wolf that's endearing to some.


----------



## yongkun (Aug 9, 2010)

Panache


----------



## Clyde250 (Feb 24, 2007)

They accused him of having an ENGINE. A real engine. That's pure. I love the classics riders, watching Fabian and Boonen just pull away from folks just as amazing as watching a great battle in the mountains.


----------



## Ridin'Sorra (Sep 7, 2004)

runningdud said:


> who was bottle?


Levi Leipheimer.

Something along the lines of Lance not remembering or not knowing his name and when needing a water bottle he just called Levi "bottle!".


----------

