Claim: Fabian Cancellara began road cycling after falling in love with an old bike at age thirteen.

Fabian Cancellara -LRB- born 18 March 1981 -RRB- , nicknamed `` Spartacus '' , is a Swiss former professional road bicycle racer who last rode for UCI ProTeam . He was born in Wohlen bei Bern , Switzerland . Cancellara began road cycling after falling in love with an old bike at the age of thirteen . After that , he began to take the sport more seriously and won two consecutive World Junior Time Trial Championships in 1998 and 1999 . At age nineteen he turned professional and signed with the team , where he rode as a stagiaire . He is known for being a quality time trialist , a one-day classics specialist , and a workhorse for his teammates that have general classification aspirations .   After winning a few stages and small races in his starting years , Cancellara earned his first major victory at the 2004 Tour de France where he won the opening prologue time trial and wore race leader yellow jersey for one day . The following season saw fewer victories , but his 2006 season saw a victory in the men 's time trial at the UCI Road World Championships , along with victory at the Paris -- Roubaix . Cancellara repeated as world champion in the time trial the next year , along with winning two stages at the Tour de France .   During the 2008 calendar he won gold at the Summer Olympics in the individual time trial event and the Milan -- San Remo . The next season saw Cancellara again become world time trial champion and lead both the Tour de France and the Vuelta a España . In 2010 , he won the Paris -- Roubaix and the Tour of Flanders . Cancellara 's 2011 and 2012 campaigns were both short in number of victories , while the latter was hampered by injuries throughout . After a lackluster two-year period , Cancellara again won the Tour of Flanders and Paris -- Roubaix double in 2013 . In 2014 , Cancellara repeated as winner of the Tour of Flanders .   Since turning professional in 2000 , Cancellara has ridden for four professional teams . He has achieved great success in the classic monuments ; he has won Paris -- Roubaix three times , the Milan -- San Remo once , and the Tour of Flanders three times . Cancellara has won the opening stage of the Tour de France five times and has led the race for 29 days total , which is the most of any rider who has not won the Tour . His success has not been limited to just time trials and classics , as he has won general classification of the Tirreno -- Adriatico , Tour de Suisse , and the Tour of Oman . In 2008 , he won gold in the individual time trial and silver in the men 's road race at the Summer Olympics . In 2016 , he won Olympic gold in the individual time trial for the second time in his career . In addition , Cancellara has been the time trial world champion four times in his career .