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Fabian Cancellara is starting a new cycling team. The former rider announced this on Tuesday on the sidelines of Ronde van Romande. The team will be called Tudor Pro Cycling and has the ambition to ride the Tour de Romandie and the Tour of Switzerland in 2023. From 2024, the team wants to have the right to participate in “the most famous and most prestigious competitions in the world”.
Vincent van Genstensource† BELGA
Cancellara ended his cycling career in 2016. In his words, the 41-year-old Swiss has since dreamed of leading a cycling team himself.
The Swiss Tudor (Luxury Watches) team builds sponsored by the Swiss Racing Academy, which now competes at the continental level. Paris-Roubaix of Promises will be the first race for the formation on May 15, which will be driven with black gear.
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“From 2023 we will have a true Swiss professional team in Peloton again,” Cancellara said. The coaching team will then be retained to “track and mentor Swiss talent”. Cancellara will become the Pro Team Owner and will also take charge of the Swiss Racing Academy where he already started as a mentor. However, he will not claim a sports role. “I will not be an athletic director, coach or manager. I am the owner and that will be my only role.”
Since BMC became CCC in 2019, and thus ended up in the hands of Poland, Switzerland no longer has a professional team. That was a thorn in Cancellara’s side. “Switzerland should have a cycling team,” he told Cycling News. “Especially with the successes of the Swiss riders in recent years. The efforts of the Swiss Cycling Federation must also be rewarded. We start from scratch. After all, you cannot build a pyramid without a good foundation. This is a great day for me, but it should also be an important day for cycling in Switzerland “.
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