Swiss Fabian Cancellara will skip racing for a record fourth time trial title at World Championships September 30 in Geelong, Australia, if his form fails to improve.
He told Denmark's Cycling World website, "I will be at 100 per cent before I decide whether I will participate."
At the Vuelta a España Wednesday, Cancellara finished third behind winner Peter Velits (HTC-Columbia) and Denis Menchov (Rabobank) on a 46-kilometre course. The World Championship course is nearly the same distance at 45.8 kilometres. It includes the same 15.9 kilometres used in the road circuit, with two hills, plus an additional seven kilometres of rolling roads. The professional men will repeat the circuit two times.
Cancellara is the defending World Champion thanks to his dominant victory last year in his home country. Since then, he won the one-day classics, Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix, and the prologue time trial and stage 19's time trial at the Tour de France.
He also won the world title in 2006 and 2007.
Regardless, Swiss cycling listed to race the time trial and part of its nine-man team for the road race October 3. Cancellara also told the AFP on August 27 that he looks forward to racing in Geelong.
Cancellara will also decide about next year's team in the coming weeks. He has one year more in his contract with Bjarne Riis' Saxo Bank team, but the two have discussed a possible annulment. According to France's L'Equipe newspaper, Riis is asking for €3 million to annul Cancellara's contract and in an interview Tuesday with Spain's El País newspaper he said he is unsure if Cancellara will continue with Saxo Bank.
"I do not know. I do not know," he said. "But there'll be a strong team with Alberto [Contador] – it is not a problem."
Team BMC Racing, Fly V Australia and Brian Nygaard's Luxembourg-based team are interested in Cancellara.