Attending a major Classic in Europe is an opportunity not only to watch some great bike racing, but a chance to behold a curious sub-culture as well - that of the fan club. All of the great riders, most of the good, and even the lesser talents seem to have devoted followings not just in practice, but in name, t-shirt, banner, and van.
In a curious case of oversight, Fabian Cancellara has a fan club in Belgium, numbering nearly 5000 supporters, but did not have one at home in Switzerland to extoll his virtues until this week.
Thankfully, the wrong has been righted. The Leopard Trek rider, who is unquestionably one of Switzerland's most famous, most popular, and most beloved, has a fan club. The fan club, based in Cancellara's hometown of Ostermundigen, is called 'cancellara4ever'.
The fan club's president, Rolf Frehner, spoke with Switzerland's Blick.ch about the filling of the gaping void.
"We feel that Fabü deserves it. He is athletic, but he's also a role model as a person."
According to Blick.ch, the goals of the club are the support of their hero, the creation of a platform for all of Cancellara's home fans, and to coordinate their activities.
While the creation of Fabian Cancellara's home fan club will certainly not alter the landscape of professional cycling, it could well play some role for the many people who attend the big races around Europe each year. If the fan club catches on and grows as it most likely will - you can bet you'll feel their presence. If you're lucky, it will be by way of flags, t-shirts, camper vans, copious amounts of alcohol, and much singing.