Cancellara renews Gaimon challenge and bemoans disorganised state of the sport

Fabian Cancellara has renewed his challenge for Phil Gaimon to come and race him after the American said of the Swiss rider “that fucker probably did have a motor” in his latest book, Draft Animals.

“He wanted to sell his book and he chose the best month to do it,” Cancellara told La Gazzetta dello Sport.

“Nothing happens in November and he launched a bomb. I’ve challenged him to go up against me. Let's see how many watts Gaimon has. I’ve still got some good numbers, even if not for very long because I’m not on form. He should come to my races, there are nine to choose from, so we can see how good he is.”

Cancellara of course denies motor doping and nor does he believe that anyone else in the peloton has ever gone down that route.

“I don’t think someone has used one because there’s a chance you’d get caught and exposed,” he said.

Which isn’t to say he thinks cycling is in a great place at the moment. In fact, he describes it as a “bordello” – a word which isn’t perhaps to be taken literally.

“The foundations are the problem: the UCI, the big organisers, the teams and riders. There’s a lack of unity and a global vision for the future. It’s a bordello.

“The politics of the sport don’t work and so everyone suffers. Everyone just thinks about what they can earn in the short term. Yet cycling, for the emotions it gives people, has enormous potential. Sadly that’s not used in the right way.”