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Sir Bradley Wiggins VS Fabian Cancellara - Final - Ciao Fabian

Fabian Cancellara beats Sir Bradley Wiggins in his last ever race (+ video)

More than 6,000 fans pack into Ghent's 't Kuipke velodrome to say "Ciao, Fabian"...
by Simon_MacMichael
Sun, Nov 13, 2016 12:19
0

Fabian Cancellara has signed off on his professional cycling career with victory against Sir Bradley Wiggins in his last ever race, to the delight of 6,200 people who packed into Ghent’s 't Kuipke velodrome.

There was never going to be any other result on an emotional evening that saw Cancellara beat Pippo Pozzato – the pair began their careers together at Mapei-Quick Step – in the semi-final of a 2km individual pursuit contest before seeing off Wiggins.

Cancellara said it was “unbelievable that so many people turned up for the retirement of a Swiss rider,” adding, “this could only happen in cycling-mad Belgium.”

The 35-year-old is hugely popular in Belgium partly because of his prowess over the cobbles – he’s a three-time winner of the Tour of Flanders and has the same number of victories in Paris-Roubaix across the French border – and because of his style of riding.

He also took his first Tour de France yellow jersey in Belgium after winning the Prologue in Liege in 2004.

Last night was a happier experience for the Swiss rider than the last time we saw him in a velodrome – he had a rather embarrassing fall as he took a farewell lap of the track in Roubaix in April.

>Video: Fabian Cancellara's final Paris-Roubaix ends with velodrome fall

While Cancellara has ridden his last race, Wiggins has a busy week ahead – he’s staying in Ghent, the city of his birth, to partner Mark Cavendish in the Six Day meet that starts on Tuesday and which may (or may not) be the final event of his career.

Perhaps the most bizarre tribute is this one from the organisers of the E3 Harelbeke race, an event Cancellara won three times, with a caption that roughly translates as “the race is holy, Fabian is sacred.”

Fabian Cancellara
Sir Bradley Wiggins
Ghent
Six Days of Ghent
Simon MacMichael

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

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