In an interview with cyclingnews.com, the exceptional Swiss athlete Fabian Cancellara spoke for the first time about his possible retirement. His current three-year contract with Trek runs until 2016. After that, the multiple world champion and Olympic gold medalist will likely retire.
“I have a three-year contract and after that it’s over ,” said Cancellara. “I don’t think there will be a fourth or fifth year. Sixteen years as a professional is a long time and I don’t want to follow in the footsteps of Chris Horner and Jens Voigt and still be in the saddle at 40. I don’t feel tired, but sooner or later it will happen and that’s perfectly normal.”
In addition, Cancellara wants to resign in top form. According to his own statement, he is convinced that he will continue to drive at the current level for the next three years. So the World Championships in Qatar 2016 could be his last big race.
"I could stop now and it wouldn't be difficult for me to set new personal goals, but I would miss something. I have the feeling that my journey is not yet at the end. There are still big goals that I want to achieve on the bike and so I will continue to do my best.”
When asked what he intends to do after his professional career, Cancellara replied that he wants to give something back to the sport. His goal is to continue to push the sport and take it to the next level. However, he did not reveal whether he was a team manager, UCI official or coach.