Fabian Cancellara 2010: The Search for Classics Redemption

Fabian Cancellara's 2009 spring classics campaign didn't go quite to plan for the world renowned time trialist. A combination of sickness and crashes at the outset of last year set his classics preparation back, as did a string of bad luck in the biggest cobbled-classics. He broke a chain at Flanders and was out of contention early at Paris-Roubaix, leaving him empty handed after the spring classics season.

2010 will see Cancellara hope for a smoother start to his year, as well as at least one victory in one of the three biggest classics of the spring. The Swiss time trialing machine will be a big player at Milan-San Remo, the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix after a solid early season build up that will continue at this coming week's Tirreno-Adriatico stage race.

With the departure of Kurt Asle-Arvesen, Lars Bak, Karsten Kroon and Alexandr Kolobnev from the Saxo-Bank team, Cancellara finds himself as one of the only remaining one day stars on Bjarne Riis' squad. Stuart O'Grady, though still a strong one day commodity, is not quite as dynamic as in previous years, and so most of the one day pressure will fall squarely on the shoulders of Cancellara.

At 28 years old and with a lexicon of experience and victories in the biggest races throughout the world, Cancellara is as well-prepared as anyone to deal with the expectations that will be placed on him throughout the spring months. He has laid a solid base after riding the Tour of Qatar, and seems poised to have a solid performance at all of the big upcoming races this spring.

Cancellara is already a past winner at MSR and Roubaix, and so it would seem that the Tour of Flanders would be tops on his wish list for this spring. He'll receive staunch support from O'Grady as well as Matti Breschel. His status as leader for the early spring classics is unquestioned, which should play to the favor of the Saxo Bank team. With only one clear leader to support, there will be little confusion on the Saxo Team.

The Saxo Bank team is still a strong outfit, but Cancellara will likely be forced to follow the stronger teams as the tactics are made in each classics race. Stronger teams like Sky, Columbia and Quick Step will be looked to by Cancellara and others to control the spring races, and so riders like Cancellara will have to take a wait and see approach as each race unfolds.

Fabian Cancellara is without a doubt one of the strongest riders in the European peloton, capable of winning a race virtually on his own without any help. He is a cagey veteran with a strong body and mind, able to read a race at a moment's notice an react accordingly. Providing he has a bit of luck, Cancellara should expect to at least podium in one of the three spring monuments. Whether he'll manage to won of them is down to a combination of tactics, luck and circumstance.