I started cycling at age 13. I asked my dad if I could ride the bike in the garage. He said, ‘Yes, go on. Enjoy.’ So, I had fun and explored my region. To this day, my favourite place to ride my bike in the world is all around my neighbourhood. I live in the capital of Switzerland, Bern. Bern is unique, amazing, special. I start off from where I live and then in a minute I am in the green area – in a minute I am flying. It’s a bit up and down, but you’re in the green space, where all the farmers are and you’re surrounded by nature, and this is why I love it. I can also ride into the city without any problem in 10 minutes and there are bike lanes everywhere. I’m really close to the area where the biergartens are. Bern isn’t London, Milano, Paris, LA, it’s not New York: it’s so simple and easy to move around. And Switzerland is like a kind of museum – everything is clean, everything is in order, everything is functioning, everything is in place.
I can also ride into the mountains, I can ride to Interlaken, which takes me about an hour and a half. Unfortunately, these days I ride less; I can only manage a two-hour loop and then I have to come back because I am so busy, particularly with my latest venture as founder of the Tudor Pro Cycling Team.
But cycling is still my focus. For me, cycling has been a life school, an amazing journey; I learned so much. And now it’s time to give something back to my own country, and I aim to do this through the Tudor Pro Cycling Team.
You can follow Fabian on Instagram here: @fabian_cancellara; tudorprocycling.com
