Fabian Cancellara may be on his last wheels. The three-time Tour of Flanders winner will see his contract expire at the end of next season and strongly hinted that he will retire in 2016; however, the opportunity is there for Cancellara to step aside if the perfect moment arises.
That could come with a win at the Paris-Roubaix or Tour of Flanders.
"It could be, it could be and it's my decision," he told the press at the Tour of Qatar (via Cycling News). "It's my decision and no one else can make it. I've been a pro since 2000, but I'm still motivated and I'm still here. The level is still here and I've been on this level since 2006, and every year I can still achieve a big goal or a big race."
"Nothing is planned. I have a contract that ends in 2016, but I've said that I want to stop on the highest level. It could be this year, it could be next year."
At 33, Cancellara is well aware of father time, seeing his form slip in recent years.
"I know that these are my last years and that's no secret," he said. "That perhaps doesn't motivate me more, but it does turn me back to when I was a kid."
"In the last few years, the older I have become, everything has become more complicated. Whether it's internally, externally, the expectations on everything needing to be 100 percent and that if things were not 100 percent, then I missed it. I tried to turn everything back and while I wouldn't call it re-starting, I just tried to think like a kid more."
"It's about not thinking too much, just racing and going back to my basics. I just try to enjoy things and that's what I'm doing."
Cancellara was upstaged by Niki Terpstra on Tuesday, finishing eight seconds behind in the Tour of Qatar third stage.
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