I read the headline "Swiss newspaper claims Cancellara will miss 2013 Tour de France" on the Radioshack Leopard Trek Fansite, and had a gut feeling that this was an inaccurate article. There are no direct quotes from Cancellara or RSLT, just quotes that the newspaper Blick "reports him saying".
In one part of the article, Cancellara allegedly says he "doesn’t believe that [Andy Schleck] can win this year’s [Tour de France]." In my opinion, why would a well-respected rider come out and be so pessimistic about his teammate? Cancellara wouldn't do that, and RSLT would never allow for that either.
At the bottom of the webpage that this story is on, there are links for related articles. One of the links if for a follow-up article: "Cancellara denies any decision is made concerning Tour de France participation". Thankfully, this article uses direct quotes from Cancellara, including what he posted on this Twitter account: “Dont belive what you read global regarding my raceprogramm. #Full fokus for the #classics after that i will rest, and decide with the team.”
Here are the complete articles for you to read:
Swiss newspaper claims Cancellara will miss 2013 Tour de France
He’s shone in the race in the past, winning five prologues, eight stages in all and holding the record of yellow jerseys [28] amongst the riders who never won the race, but Swiss publication Blick has claimed that Fabian Cancellara won’t line out in this year’s Tour de France.
If accurate, the surprising news denies his RadioShack Leopard team of one of its star riders for the race.
However Cancellara has said that he believes his chances of shining in the race have been limited by the parcours.
“The start in Corsica features neither a prologue nor a time trial,” Blick reports him as saying while explaining his decision.
The 2013 edition will instead feature the first sprinter-friendly stage one finish in over four decades, with the early race against the clock being the team time trial on stage four rather than an individual effort.
The race does also feature two solo TT tests, namely stage eleven’s 33 kilometre race to Mont St. Michel and stage 17’s Chorges TT, but these are not enough to entice him to take part.
Apart from his passing up on the chance to chase a stage win, Cancellara’s absence would also be a blow to the team as he could have done vital work for his team-mate Andy Schleck. However according to Blick, the Swiss rider doesn’t believe that the Luxembourg rider can win this year’s race.
While the route is undoubtedly better than the 2012 course would have been for Schleck, he is still trying to regain his form after a bad crash in last year’s Criterium du Dauphiné.
While Blick doesn't elaborate on Cancellara’s pessimism about Schleck’s chances, the 2010 race winner has himself said that it is conceivable that it could take him until 2014 before he is as strong as he was before.
Cancellara will begin his season in the Tour of Qatar and then continue in the Tour of Oman prior to tackling his big goals, the Classic trio of Milan-Sanremo, the Ronde van Vlaanderen and Paris-Roubaix. The world championship is likely to be a target in the second half of the year.
Cancellara denies any decision is made concerning Tour de France participation
Contradicting an earlier report in the Swiss publication Blick stating that Fabian Cancellara has decided to miss this year’s Tour de France, both the rider and his RadioShack Leopard team have moved to deny that this is the case.
“Dont belive what you read global regarding my raceprogramm. #Full fokus for the #classics after that i will rest, and decide with the team,” Cancellara stated via Twitter, writing in his distinctive manner.
Team spokesman Tim Vanderjeugd also underlined that the story was inaccurate. “Blick didn't have an interview with Fabian. His program until Paris-Roubaix is fixed; from there on, it's all open,”
The earlier article said that Cancellara noted that there is neither a prologue nor a time trial at next year’s start in Corsica, saying that a decision not to ride the Tour had been taken based on that.
It also said that Cancellara didn’t believe that he needed to go for team support, because he didn’t believe Andy Schleck could win the 2013 race.
Vanderjeugd said that this too is inaccurate.
Cancellara has excelled in previous editions of the race, winning eight stages in all and holding the record of the most yellow jerseys [28] by a rider who hasn’t won the race.
The 2013 Tour will feature three stages in Corsica at the start, with stage one being the first sprinter-specific race in over four decades.
It complicates things if Cancellara wants to try to take yellow again, but he is nevertheless strong enough to be successful in the race.
Before then, and before any decision as to his summer race programme, he will focus on shining in Milan-Sanremo, the Ronde Van Vlaanderen and Paris-Roubaix.
He will begin his season tomorrow in the Tour of Qatar and then continue with the Tour of Oman.
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