“Switzerland must have a team”
Fabian Cancellara founds a new cycling team. The ex-driver announced this on Tuesday at the edge of the 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 the right to compete in “the most famous and prestigious competitions in the world”.
In 2016, Cancellara ended his cycling career. Since then, the 41-year-old Swiss has 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 is the first race for the May 15 formation, which will be ridden in black gear.
“From 2023 we will have a real Swiss professional team in the peloton again,” said Cancellara. The coaching team is then tasked with “following and mentoring Swiss talent”. Cancellara becomes Pro Team Owner and also assumes responsibility for the Swiss Racing Academy, where he already started as a mentor. However, he will not claim a sporting role. “I will not be a sporting 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 Polish hands, there is no longer a professional team in Switzerland. 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 drivers in recent years. The efforts of the Swiss Velos Association must also be rewarded. We’re starting from scratch. After all, you can’t build a pyramid without a good foundation. It’s a great day for me, but it should also be an important day for cycling in Switzerland.”