The Greatest Race in History: Fabs v. Phil

I’m totally biased on who I want to win the Greatest Race in History, also the most important gran fondo ever. In what amounts to a grudge match between the celebrated-as-Spartacus Cancellara and a former cookie-eating pro malcontent what’s his face, I’m rooting for Fabs.

That’s because I hung out with him during the Gore launch, like sat next to him during Paris-Roubaix, and we would’ve ridden a group ride but it was snowed out.

I’ve never met Phil Gaimon, have heard a few racing stories, and reviewed his book. There’s a paragraph in that best seller (it is a great read) that upset the world of cycling. It accuses Cancellara of motor doping and calling him a fucker.

When you watch the footage, his accelerations don’t look natural at all, like he’s having trouble staying on the top of the pedals. That fucker probably did have a motor.

When we were in Park City, the Fabs v. Phil feud wasn’t mentioned. And, even though Boonen was in the press also saying there are motors (or were) in the peloton. Considering that Cancellara is retired and at work as a brand ambassador and I met him during a launch, I don’t think it was appropriate to ask him about the topic.

When he saw an official tagging Sagan’s bike for x-ray testing for motors, he scoffed at the TV and said to me, “That’s so dumb.”

That was it and good enough for me. If you ever meet Cancellara like I did it seems entirely impossible that’d he cheat.

I also believe there were or are motors in the peloton and written many posts about the topic.

This weekend, these two will race each other, in the name of charity and because Fabs called Phil out. It’s not going to settle the matter, but should be very entertaining.

Read Cyclingtips for more of the story on this tremendous event.

With July looming, it is time for the cycling community to cast its focus on the preeminent and most controversial race of the season — the gran fondo grudge-match between Fabian Cancellara and Phil Gaimon. That highly touted but poorly understood contest between two retired pros of considerably different pedigree will take place this Sunday in the hilly southwestern corner of Switzerland.

 

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