Fabian Cancellara put in a fairly quiet race at the Tour of California last month. The 2010 winner of the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix took a well-earned break following his success and used California to get back to business.
"The enthusiasm for cycling in California was unbelievable, and the weather in comparison to many other stage races, the Giro d'Italia for example, was very good."
After California, Cancellara headed back home to Switzerland, but says that "it took about a week to recover from the jetlag." He's back working hard ahead of the Tour de Suisse though, which begins Saturday in Lugano. "I'm working very hard right now with some time behind the motorbike as well. I have to work on finding the race rhythm again."
Cancellara enjoyed an amazing Tour de Suisse in 2009 and feels an obligation to return with solid form in 2010: "As the defending champion, I want to do a good race."
He's reluctant to say that he's going for the overall in his country's national tour though. "At the moment, I don't have the form that I had last year before the start of the Tour de Suisse. Because of this, the stage from Meiringen to La Punt with the climbs of Susten, Oberalp, and Albula will probably be too difficult for me."
Even though it's June, the temperatures at the top of the great Swiss climbs is a bit dicey. Cancellara is nervous about the weather and hopes for a cooperative middle of the month.
"I hope that the weather plays along. Right now, it is still pretty cool at the top of the passes. On the Sustenpass it was only 3C yesterday!"
Number One on the To Do List for Cancellara will of course be the Prologue, but the Swiss Road Champion points out that there are a lot of opportunities spread out across the nine days.
"I think all of the stages will be interesting, but above all, the stages with the difficult finishing circuits."
Cancellara is paying special attention to the third stage and hopes to take a closer look before the race starts.
"If it fits into my training, I want to take a closer look at the third stage from Sierre to Schwarzenburg, because I find it very interesting. The stage starts in the flatlands, then goes up the Col des Mosses, along the Lac de la Gruyere, through the Freiburgerland, over Tafer to Schwarzenburg. The finishing circuit of about 30 kilometers, which includes a two kilometer climb at 11% will be very tough."