Fabian Cancellara- MSR 2008

disgruntledgoat
disgruntledgoat Posts: 8,957
edited September 2015 in Pro race
As I've done a few of these translations now, and I promised Frenchfighter I'd do this one, here's Fabian Cancellara's recollection of his 2008 Milan-San Remo win. Once again, the article is taken from Bahamontes magazine and was written by Jonas Heyerick.

The video is here (with added Foo Fighters, cheers Youtube)

Fabian Cancellara blinks as he thinks back on the spring of 2008. "I had the perfect training week behind me. I'd won Strada Bianchi and Tirenno-Adriatico with style. In MSR, I started as Top Favourite. Everyone knew 'We can't give Fabian even 5 meters'".

The race went perfectly for the, in those days. CSC leader. The usual early breakaway had gone. A couple of moves for show and half attacks on the way to the finale and then a bomb goes off on the Poggio, as tradition increasingly dictates, everything is together on the descent from the famous pimple to the Ligurian coast. A big group looks to be heading to a srpint finish in the streets of the floral city. Because of roadworks the finish isn't on the Via Roma, for the first time in years it will be on the Lungomare dello Nazioni.

Whilst we rewatch the images of the hectic finale, the Swiss awards us a look inside his mind "As I exepeienced that day"
"In many ways, my story was that of a raging, Christ-like figure who hauled himself off the cross, looked up at the Romans with blood in his eyes and said 'My turn, sock cookers'"

@gietvangent
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Comments

  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,661
    Bloody looking forward to this one.
    _
  • adr82
    adr82 Posts: 4,002
    Yep sounds good!

    Video without music
  • disgruntledgoat
    disgruntledgoat Posts: 8,957
    1300m to go

    "I see a Euskaltel rider accelerate on the left. I recognise his style immediately: Inigo Lanadluze. Not the man you would automatically watch here, but perhaps I must get on his wheel, I don't immediately know why but my instinct tells me to and I always trust my instinct. Relatively easy, actually. I'm going 3kph faster than him. I look behind and expect to see a select group forming in my wheel. Nothing there. I am alone. I recognise the first chaser from his flowing hair and lime green jersey: Franco Pelizzoti. He's already lost 5 meters. I can't believe it! They've let me ride! They've given me 5 meters! I stand straight on the pedals and accelarate more. The gap grows bigger."

    1100m to go

    Bjane Riis urges me on. He shouts constantly in my ear, but I hardly hear him. It's nothing more than annoying background noise. Now and then I hear a little 'There's a gap! Go! Go!' I want to look behind to see how big the gap is. Riis is going crazy "Don't look back! Just go! Go!'"
    "In many ways, my story was that of a raging, Christ-like figure who hauled himself off the cross, looked up at the Romans with blood in his eyes and said 'My turn, sock cookers'"

    @gietvangent
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,661
    [url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19706880#p19706880]disgruntledgoat[/url] wrote:
    1300m to go
    He's already lost 5 meters. I can't believe it! They've let me ride! They've given me 5 meters! I stand straight on the pedals and accelarate more. The gap grows bigger."

    This was at that time when it really was like that. I couldn't believe they had given him 5 metres.

    Cancellara was just that good a time trailer, someone who could always ride faster than someone else on the flat.

    That was why he was so exciting for so long. You knew, when he turned it on, if people gave him that 5 metre gap, that was it. That frissance you had when you saw Cancellara at the sharp end of a one dayer, looming lurking, with one hand that monster weapon.
    _
  • smokey_bacon
    smokey_bacon Posts: 1,639
    Textbook from Fabs!
  • disgruntledgoat
    disgruntledgoat Posts: 8,957
    1000m to go

    "I ride under the Flame Rouge, shift one tooth bigger. I'm awaiting a counter attack at any moment. Pozzato, Ballan maybe. Or Gilbert who looked good too. A couple of guys must be capable of digging in some more, surely? Riis keeps screaming: 'You're alone! Give everything!'. I look behind, nobody in my wheel. Am I really the only one with anything left in the tank?"

    800m to go

    I feel pain, but it's not an overwhelming pain. On the contrary, sometimes I get this pain, the nagging feeling in my muscles, and it's almost virtuous. I try to think afterwards that it's a good pain. How much pain can I still take and get to the finish with no problems? I've been sat on the bike now for 7 hours and 14 minutes and I still have to go even deeper for one more minute. Tough. Maybe though... I've already amazed myself before. My body simply doesn't let itself ride slower in a finale, even if the victory is a long way off. Take my win in Paris Roubaix in 2011, I rode 50km solo and quickly built a winning lead but I wasn't feeling like i was going to slow down at any moment. It's as if my body takes over my mind in a wild state. A bizarre sensation."
    "In many ways, my story was that of a raging, Christ-like figure who hauled himself off the cross, looked up at the Romans with blood in his eyes and said 'My turn, sock cookers'"

    @gietvangent
  • disgruntledgoat
    disgruntledgoat Posts: 8,957
    [url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19706885#p19706885]Rick Chasey[/url] wrote:
    [url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19706880#p19706880]disgruntledgoat[/url] wrote:
    1300m to go
    He's already lost 5 meters. I can't believe it! They've let me ride! They've given me 5 meters! I stand straight on the pedals and accelarate more. The gap grows bigger."

    This was at that time when it really was like that. I couldn't believe they had given him 5 metres.

    Cancellara was just that good a time trailer, someone who could always ride faster than someone else on the flat.

    That was why he was so exciting for so long. You knew, when he turned it on, if people gave him that 5 metre gap, that was it. That frissance you had when you saw Cancellara at the sharp end of a one dayer, looming lurking, with one hand that monster weapon.

    Yeah, then he started to get pi$$y when people figured out how to stop it and wouldn't let him ride away anymore.
    "In many ways, my story was that of a raging, Christ-like figure who hauled himself off the cross, looked up at the Romans with blood in his eyes and said 'My turn, sock cookers'"

    @gietvangent
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,661
    Got it right though, eventually.

    Last years' Flanders win was a win without the best legs.

    Sagan's going through the same phase atm. Just less p1ssy...
    _
  • disgruntledgoat
    disgruntledgoat Posts: 8,957
    [url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19706896#p19706896]Rick Chasey[/url] wrote:
    Got it right though, eventually.

    Last years' Flanders win was a win without the best legs.

    Sagan's going through the same phase atm. Just less p1ssy...

    I don't think Sagan's got the racing brain of Cancellara, however.

    Still, on with the show!
    "In many ways, my story was that of a raging, Christ-like figure who hauled himself off the cross, looked up at the Romans with blood in his eyes and said 'My turn, sock cookers'"

    @gietvangent
  • disgruntledgoat
    disgruntledgoat Posts: 8,957
    650m to go

    "HIgh time that I took another look around. The followers are getting smaller. Perfect!

    Only when I saw this did I realise that this was the moment that I won MSR and the others lost. Ballan pulls on the fronts, looks around and sees that nobody will help stops pedalling. I get 2 seconds extra. Game over."
    "In many ways, my story was that of a raging, Christ-like figure who hauled himself off the cross, looked up at the Romans with blood in his eyes and said 'My turn, sock cookers'"

    @gietvangent
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,661
    Compared to the Phil Gil one you did, Canc 'knows' he's won a lot sooner!!

    Telling.
    _
  • disgruntledgoat
    disgruntledgoat Posts: 8,957
    [url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19706922#p19706922]Rick Chasey[/url] wrote:
    Compared to the Phil Gil one you did, Canc 'knows' he's won a lot sooner!!

    Telling.

    For clarity, the second half of that is him talking about looking at it on TV later. I missed a bit out of the sentence. Everything after "perfect!" Is him talking about watching on TV
    "In many ways, my story was that of a raging, Christ-like figure who hauled himself off the cross, looked up at the Romans with blood in his eyes and said 'My turn, sock cookers'"

    @gietvangent
  • cc78
    cc78 Posts: 599
    Yes!

    Thanks for posting
  • disgruntledgoat
    disgruntledgoat Posts: 8,957
    600m to go

    "I look again. My advantage has grown a little. Looking good! Maybe I can hold it like this to the finish. I have yet another peek. They're not getting any closer. Yes! Still another glance. It's true! The gap is steady. I often hear commentators say that riders look back when fatigue sets in. Looking behind could be a sign of weakness. For me, it definitely isn't. Today, I'm only looking back to see if and when I have won the game."

    500m to go

    "Fupp! A corner! What's more, a chicane. How sharp is it? How fast can I take it? I have no idea. Since I've been riding, this is the first MSR that doesn't finish on the Via Roma and, honestly, I haven't seen the new finish let alone ridden it. This morning I was criticised by a couple of Italian journalists: ' Fabian is not professional enough. He hasn't done everything to win here'. Bullplop! You win because you are the strongest, not because you researched the finish."
    "In many ways, my story was that of a raging, Christ-like figure who hauled himself off the cross, looked up at the Romans with blood in his eyes and said 'My turn, sock cookers'"

    @gietvangent
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,661
    [url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19707045#p19707045]Cancellara[/url] wrote:
    This morning I was criticised by a couple of Italian journalists: ' Fabian is not professional enough. He hasn't done everything to win here'. Bullplop! You win because you are the strongest, not because you researched the finish."

    Bahahahaha
    _
  • disgruntledgoat
    disgruntledgoat Posts: 8,957
    450m to go

    "I can only hope that I take this chicane well, that I don't end up in the barriers. For the corner I shifted two teeth lighter so I can accelerate out of it quicker. I stop pedalling through the corner, I don't want to take too many risks. I get through it ok. I shift up again and get myself back up to top speed. I never know how fast I'm going in the last KM, I've no time to look at my computer."

    Cancellara notes after this that he still doesn't know, because he never checked. The bike he won San Remo on is in his house with the computer still attached. He's not touched it since and never checked the computer.
    "In many ways, my story was that of a raging, Christ-like figure who hauled himself off the cross, looked up at the Romans with blood in his eyes and said 'My turn, sock cookers'"

    @gietvangent
  • disgruntledgoat
    disgruntledgoat Posts: 8,957
    400m to go

    "I look over again. Ballan and co are definitely not closing. Who's on the front now? I that Pozzato himself? I try to think 'Is my advantage enough to be certain of the win?' I cannot make a single mistake, I mustn't misjudge the distance to the line. This is Milan-San Remo, not a Kermesse round a church in Flanders"

    300m to go

    "I feel suddenly that I'm fading. Am I going half a kilometer per hour slower? I shift quickly, a little smaller. I'm a shifting junkie. I change gear constantly. One tooth smaller, two teeth bigger. I compare myself with a clock. A clock ticks constantly at the same tempo, the cogs turning at the same speed. My legs are my cogs and when I feel my cogs are not longer holding time, I shift.

    A big difference between me and other riders. You see guys who can ride 90km in the same gear. I couldn't so that"
    "In many ways, my story was that of a raging, Christ-like figure who hauled himself off the cross, looked up at the Romans with blood in his eyes and said 'My turn, sock cookers'"

    @gietvangent
  • disgruntledgoat
    disgruntledgoat Posts: 8,957
    its such a shame FF has gone, he'd have done his nut for this stuff!
    "In many ways, my story was that of a raging, Christ-like figure who hauled himself off the cross, looked up at the Romans with blood in his eyes and said 'My turn, sock cookers'"

    @gietvangent
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,661
    It's bloody good!

    Love the idea of Cancellara as a 'shifting junkie' .

    I feel bad now, on my single speed commute :(. Cancellara would not approve.
    _
  • disgruntledgoat
    disgruntledgoat Posts: 8,957
    I like that the Swiss guy compared himself with a clock.
    "In many ways, my story was that of a raging, Christ-like figure who hauled himself off the cross, looked up at the Romans with blood in his eyes and said 'My turn, sock cookers'"

    @gietvangent
  • disgruntledgoat
    disgruntledgoat Posts: 8,957
    200m to go
    A glance over my shoulder. Is it enough? Yes, it is. I win! Now I'm certain of it. The pain disappears from my legs. The lactic acid flows out of my legs and is replaced by the euphoria that winning brings. Meanwhile Riis is a wall of sound in my ear 'It's yours! It's yours!' I smile. It's mine.

    100m to go

    There is the finish. Arms in the air. First pointing fingers, then clenched fists. A primal scream. It is within. A new line on my palmeres and one that counts. Merckx 7 times, Girardengo 6 times, 4 for Zabel, 4 for Bartali and now, finally, 1 for Cancellara!"
    "In many ways, my story was that of a raging, Christ-like figure who hauled himself off the cross, looked up at the Romans with blood in his eyes and said 'My turn, sock cookers'"

    @gietvangent
  • disgruntledgoat
    disgruntledgoat Posts: 8,957
    The Finish

    "I'm still riding with my arms in the air. Enjoying it, happiness takes over the pain. But once I cross the line the deadly fatigue returns. Twice as bad this time. It crawls up like a beetle. It starts in my toes then crawls up my calves and later to my arms and my head. I feel completely broken. Where's my bed?"

    5m after the finish

    " I see me soigneur and team press officer (DG: the dutch word is literally Press Word Feeder, awesome), they're dancing with joy. My Soigneur stands with his arms open, waiting to catch me.A beacon, a safe haven. I have to aim for his arms, otherwise I'll knock some people over. This is Italy, where after the finish you must immediately grab your shorts or your jersey (DG: i have no idea...). It stands still for me, I don't know where I am. I'm drowning in the moment. Everyone is shouting and screaming over each other. If we're not careful, people will get trampled here soon. I'd rather the velodrome at Paris-Roubaix. Thats the only place where a monument winner is allowed a few meters to rest. At least you can stay on the track. Once you ride into the middle, you're swamped with journalists and VIPs. "

    7m after the finish

    "I stop and immediately get surrounded by the press, hungry for quotes. Microphones, cameras taking photos with blinding flashes. I barely hear the questions, answer on auto pilot. The only thing I hear clearly is the man that keeps screaming 'Cancellara Locomotiva! Cancellara Locomotiva!', that I remember.
    "In many ways, my story was that of a raging, Christ-like figure who hauled himself off the cross, looked up at the Romans with blood in his eyes and said 'My turn, sock cookers'"

    @gietvangent
  • pinno
    pinno Posts: 52,312
    [url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19707060#p19707060]disgruntledgoat[/url] wrote:
    its such a shame FF has gone, he'd have done his nut for this stuff!

    30k posts and gone. At least half of them were inexplicable (25% less than me), a quarter of them dross and the rest were all pictures, of which most of them in the wrong place. I wonder what forum he has joined now...
    seanoconn - gruagach craic!
  • disgruntledgoat
    disgruntledgoat Posts: 8,957
    There's still the epilogue to do for this one, but I've got a 3 hour flight this afternoon, so I'll kill 30 minutes and do it then.

    There's a column by the guy who did this interview in the new issue where he talks about an unnamed Belgian cyclist butt-dialling him in 2008 and him overhearing this guy and another pro talking about something called CERA... He researched it on the internets, called the guy up and asked him, he no-commented it and he let it drop. Then Ricco got caught 2 weeks later and he kicked himself.

    There's also a good long interview with Adam Hansen in that one so maybe I'll do that next.
    "In many ways, my story was that of a raging, Christ-like figure who hauled himself off the cross, looked up at the Romans with blood in his eyes and said 'My turn, sock cookers'"

    @gietvangent
  • takethehighroad
    takethehighroad Posts: 6,821
    [url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19707050#p19707050]disgruntledgoat[/url] wrote:
    Cancellara notes after this that he still doesn't know, because he never checked. The bike he won San Remo on is in his house with the computer still attached. He's not touched it since and never checked the computer.

    Ballan did the same with his Flanders winning bike from 2007
  • dish_dash
    dish_dash Posts: 5,647
    Great work Goat... loving this!

    And yes, the Hansen one has to be next...
  • ic.
    ic. Posts: 769
    [url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19707170#p19707170]Pinno[/url] wrote:
    [url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19707060#p19707060]disgruntledgoat[/url] wrote:
    its such a shame FF has gone, he'd have done his nut for this stuff!

    30k posts and gone. At least half of them were inexplicable (25% less than me), a quarter of them dross and the rest were all pictures, of which most of them in the wrong place. I wonder what forum he has joined now...

    Don't be so sure he's gone. Just check his last login. Last night
    2020 Reilly Spectre - raw titanium
    2020 Merida Reacto Disc Ltd - black on black
    2015 CAAD8 105 - very green - stripped to turbo bike
    2018 Planet X Exocet 2 - grey

    The departed:

    2017 Cervelo R3 DI2 - sold
    Boardman CX Team - sold
    Cannondale Synapse - broken
    Cube Streamer - stolen
    Boardman Road Comp - stolen
  • orraloon
    orraloon Posts: 13,227
    [url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19707334#p19707334]IC.[/url] wrote:
    [url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19707170#p19707170]Pinno[/url] wrote:
    [url=http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=19707060#p19707060]disgruntledgoat[/url] wrote:
    its such a shame FF has gone, he'd have done his nut for this stuff!

    30k posts and gone. At least half of them were inexplicable (25% less than me), a quarter of them dross and the rest were all pictures, of which most of them in the wrong place. I wonder what forum he has joined now...

    Don't be so sure he's gone. Just check his last login. Last night

    Aye. Been watching that, as part of the whole flounce (is it?) entertainment. Maybe 'go' just means stop posting?
  • phreak
    phreak Posts: 2,953
    Fantastic read and the translation is much appreciated.
  • Vino'sGhost
    Vino'sGhost Posts: 4,129
    who was FF?

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