Swiss rider Fabian Cancellara has long since established himself as the best time-triallist of his generation, winning the World Time Trial Championship four times. But his Tour de France achievements have arguably been even more impressive.
Before the 2011 Tour Cancellara had spent a cumulative 21 days in the yellow jersey, placing him 18th in the all-time list. Only the Frenchman René Vietto has spent longer in the yellow jersey (26 days) without winning a Tour.
The 30-year-old Cancellara has won seven Tour stages outright, and has proudly defended the maillot jaune whenever it has come into his possession.
The powerfully built, 6'1" Cancellara alerted the cycling world to his talent by winning the junior World Time Trial Championships of 1998 and 1999, before turning professional with Mapei-Quick Step in 2001. In 2003 he switched to Fassa Bortolo, riding alongside Italian sprinter Alessandro Petacchi.
In 2004 he made his Tour de France breakthrough, a prologue victory in Liege over Lance Armstrong winning him the yellow jersey for the first two stages.
Team CSC signed Cancellara in 2006, and after a mediocre season in 2005, the Swiss thundered to his first Paris-Roubaix victory over the cobbles ahead of his first World Time Trial Championship win in Salzburg.
In 2007, he won the Tour's London Prologue and defended the yellow jersey until Stage 7, the first mountain stage.
Riding for Team CSC in 2008 he helped team-mate Carlos Sastre to win the Tour. The following year, he powered to victory in the opening time trial.
After the team time trial he managed to keep Lance Armstrong out of the yellow jersey by 22 hundredths of a second, and again held the yellow jersey until Stage 7.
In last year's renewal the insatiable Cancellara continued his domination of the event's time-trials, winning the opening prologue ahead of HTC-Columbia's Tony Martin and also took victory in the individual time trial.
Cancellara also earned himself the title of the peloton's unofficial "shop steward" in 2010, initiating a go-slow in protest on a rain-swept Stage 2 which was peppered with crashes during a series of dangerous descents.
Away from the Tour de France, in 2008 Cancellara won the Olympic Time Trial title in Beijing, pipping team-mate Gustav Erik Larsson. Cancellara's World Time-Trial Champion titles arrived in 2006, 2007, 2009 and 2010.
His list of honours does not stop there: he's won three stages in the Vuelta a Espana. Paris-Roubaix in 2006 and 2010, as well as the Tour of Flanders in 2010. Have a look at the full list for yourself.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fabian_Cancellara
For the 2011 Tour de France Cancellara has followed former Saxo-Bank team-mates Frank and Andy Shleck to the new Team Leopard-Trek. He will be vital to their efforts to dethrone current champion Alberto Contador, and all things being equal he will remain a force on the Tour de France for several years to come.