Tyler Farrar is known to everybody as one of the fastest men in the sprinting peloton, but the American really dreams of a victory in the Tour of Flanders. Farrar lives in Gent, Belgium, and often gets to train in the hilly region of Vlaanderen, as the area is known in Flemish. Some of his strongest competitors in the Ronde van Vlaanderen will come from his own Garmin-Cervélo team.
Farrar had the classics on his mind early on. "When I turned pro, I didn't see myself as a sprinter," he told Het Nieuwsblad. "I was convinced that I'd have it for the spring classics. My big fascination." His career was turned towards the bunch gallops in 2008, when he finished fifth in Paris-Tours, the sprinters's season ending festival in France. He left riders like Daniele Bennati, Tom Boonen and current Tour Down Under race leader Robbie McEwen behind. "Then my coach put more emphasis on pure sprint training."
Farrar doesn't see one training form eclipsing the other. "In the winter am busier with training the power that you need in the hills of the 'Ronde' and on the cobbles in Paris-Roubaix. I also do some sprint training, but not nearly as much as until after the classics."
Even the Champs-Elysées doesn't tempt him as much as the racing on the narrow streets in Flanders. "I already won stages in the Giro and in the Vuelta and I still miss one in July. I do have the ambition, but my favorite race stays the Ronde van Vlaanderen. Not only because of the parcours, but also because of the people, the enthusiasm, which is not comparable to anything else." After four years of living in Gent, he knows it very well.
Last year he won the Scheldeprijs, a race previously taken by well known names like Tom Boonen, Mark Cavendish, Robbie McEwen or Alessandro Petacchi. He was also fifth in the Ronde van Vlaanderen. "My best spring since I arrived at the top level, but it still has to improve some." Farrar hopes that either he or one of his teammates can have an answer to Fabian Cancellara and Tom Boonen, the outstanding riders in Flanders. "On paper we have the strongest blokes for the classics."
Farrar says there are five to six riders on his team who can win a spring classic, naming Heinrich Haussler, Thor Hushovd and Martijn Maaskant. He doesn't think that egos will play a factor in the hectic finals. "We can't forget that the team is more important than the individual," he says. "No problem, we are pros."
He thinks that everybody will get a chance for unlimited support. "I already know that I can count on the team in Gent-Wevelgem. If they ask me to work for Hushovd in Paris-Roubaix, no problem."
When it comes to the Ronde, things aren't as clearcut anymore. "A classic is always a bit crazy, a bit of a lottery. Crashes, bad luck with the material, unexpected situations, the legs you have on that day." There is a general layout for the race. "I am not someone to go into the breaks. If Haussler, for example, does that, I wait for the finishing straight."
Farrar has noticed the increased interest in the sport in his native United States of America, thanks in part to Lance Armstrong. "To win the Tour seven times and then that story!" he marvels. Farrar hopes to continue bringing the sport closer to his fellow Americans, together with young talents like Taylor Phinney and Tejay van Garderen. "My compatriots are learning. When I told them in the past that I am a bike racer, they would say: 'Well, nice, but what do you do to pay the bills?' Now they know better."