Fabian Cancellara: The growth of his Tudor Pro team, and how he spends his days now

Fabian Cancellara retired seven years ago, but his presence in cycling is as strong as ever. The former world and Olympic champion started Tudor Pro Cycling in 2022, a Swiss-based ProTeam, as well as the development u-23 team, with big goals for the future.

The team brought over many riders to join for the 2023 season, including Sébastien Reichenbach from Groupama – FDJ, Danish champ Alexander Kamp from Trek – Segafredo, and Arvid de Kleijn from Human Powered Health.

The team has already had some big wins in 2023. Tudor Pro Cycling has taken five victories thus far, including a win at the Giro di Sicilia, Région Pays de la Loire Tour, Tour of Hungary, Le Tour de Bretagne Cycliste, and most notably, Milano – Torino. It was de Kleijn who took the result in Italy, and Cancellara was thrilled with it, and how his team operated. “It’s the team’s biggest win and the first win where we won with a proper leadout,” he said. “We played our strategy well and we took the oldest bike race in the world with the youngest team.”

The three-time Paris-Roubaix and Tour of Flanders winner knows that the team can continue to develop with good planning and preparation.

2023 season progressing well for Tudor Pro Cycling

“We are super happy and proud about how things are going. But we need to keep our feet on the ground. We’ve had fine wins that we didn’t expect, but we can continue to grow,” he said. “We have a good team of people, both riders and staff, and that’s how we can continue to evolve. We believe in our staff and riders, and that’s important: trust. Of course, it’s a sport, but we also have to care about each other. We want to do things differently, our way, not copy other teams. We have a mix of young and old people on our team.”

Fabian Cancellera’s Tudor Pro cycling team grows for 2023 season

For 2023, the team also brought on a few new staff members. Ricardo Scheidecker, the former technical and development director of Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl, joined Tudor, and Sebastian Deckert, who is the head coach.

“Of course, sports is a business. But I don’t like to say that Tudor is just our sponsor, but a partner. We believe we can make decisions together, and we can win bike races that way,” the Swiss rider says. “We will win with the best riders, but by riding together and making decisions as a team.”

Sponsors as partners

Tudor is a timepiece company, and you’ve undoubtedly seen them at many Italian races as the timing sponsor, notably the Giro d’Italia. The team also has sponsors that Cancellara is very familiar with, having worked with them before, the clothing manufacturer Assos, and bicycle maker BMC.

“We work with people we know and trust, and we push our partners to the next level,” the time triallist says, “It’s why we do wind tunnel testing, it’s why we test the bibs and jerseys and give feedback to Assos to develop great products.”

Cancellara says part of the process of growing the team is always striving for more.

“We believe in constantly learning, even if that means making mistakes. Mistakes can make you better in life,” he says. “So having this young generation of cyclists means we can hope and dream together.”

Arvid de Kleijn gives Tudor its first pro win at Milano-Torino

Cancellara is very involved with the day-to-day aspects of the team and, of course, gives his input when it comes to picking new riders. “We want to go to the next level, be a WorldTour team, but like I said, we need to keep our feet on the ground,” he explains. “If you go too much in the air, you crash.”

A different schedule but just as busy

The former pro still finds some time to ride, but not quite like the old days. “I usually ride maybe three times a week inside or outside,” he says. “I am super motivated for what I am doing. It keeps me inspired and gives me purpose. Yes, it’s a job, but it’s not just business for me.”

Although he’s adjusting to life as a non-pro cyclist, he knows he can never sit in an office five days a week.

“Every day at around 6:30, I take my daughter to school, and I’ll go to the office around the corner twice a week,” he says. “The rest of the time, I spend working from the home office, and then if I have time, I can have a short bike ride. I have natural skills at this, I think, but I’m not the office guy. I’m super keen to have other passionate people around, experts, and we can engage them for whatever projects we have.”

Now, if a beautiful timepiece maker sponsors your team, that means you’re getting one of them.

“I have the Tudor Black Bay,” Cancellara beams. “It’s not just marketing for me. I like companies that have pride in their products. The one I have is very special, with my initials on it. It fits great, I love the adjustable wristband. It’s super nice. Even when I raced, I didn’t like to just wear stuff that was our sponsor. I like to use brands that I like and respect.”

To learn more about the team, check out TudorProCycling.com