Fabian Cancellara (Trek Factory Racing) experienced some delay with respect to his training programme early this season due to illness during Christmas holidays and a relatively harmless crash with a car in January. However, a stint of intensive racing in the Middle east followed by a training block and participation in Tirreno-Adriatico successfully made up for the lost time and the 33-year old classics specialist claims to be ready ahead of the races that really matter.

Even though Cancellara didn’t manage to follow the decisive two-riders break in Strade Bianche, the Swiss has showed some signs of life chasing hard in the Italian semi-classic and continued in the same line in the Tirreno-Adriatico time trial while celebrating his 33rd birthday. The Trek Factory Racing rider finished runner-up to the surprise winner Malori (Movistar Team) in the stage concluding the Italian stage race, but his strong performance had to be takes as an indication of an increasing form as he has emphatically beaten other favorites in the likes of Wiggins, Martin or Kwiatkowski.

So far anonymous during his participations in the early season apart from the Strade Bianche and most recent showing in the Tirreno ITT, Cancellara confessed he was pleased to slowly polish his disposition hidden deep inside the peloton.

"I started the season differently but I think it was good. When I look back I'm really happy about how things went and how things are going," he explained when he sat down with journalists to talk about Milan-San Remo and the cobbled Classics.

"I'm ready to challenge now. My time just being in the peloton and helping is over. From Sunday, the next five races are the ones that count. They're the ones on my list and the ones I want to do well in. There's some doubts about my condition but I have to be good on one day, not three or four days together. I've progressed at Tirreno-Adriatico."

With 24 days of racing already on his account clocked in Dubai Tour, Tour of Qatar, Tour of Oman, Strade Bianche and Tirreno-Adriatico, the classics specialist used this time not only as a proper build-up towards cobbled classics, but only to make – in line with his reflective nature – thorough observations in regards to his main rivals for the coming spring monuments.

Always eager to share some interesting insights, Cancellara pointed out to not only constantly developed training methods but an exceptionally mild European winter as a reason for an excellent shape of riders early in the season.

"I've seen a fitter peloton this week; we all had a better winter," he said.

"You see everything during a race: you see people suffering, you people just cruising. You see it from how people pedal, how they finish a stage, how they ride in the gruppetto, how they handle the climbs or help their teammates."

"I think Peter (Sagan) showed the most of everyone. He won, too. Talking about just the Classics riders, I saw that Philippe (Gilbert) was good and I saw (Jurgen) Roelandts in good shape. The Belgians will be ready. (Sep) Vanmarcke was super strong."

"There's also Paris-Nice with other strong riders like Zdenek Stybar. I'll have forgotten some names for sure there are more riders who will be competitive than in other years. I think there's going to be some nice Classics races this year."

The winner of Milano-Sanremo in 2008, the 33-year old Swiss has an excellent record in the Italian monument as he has finished the race on podium for the last three consecutive years. Even though following the route change a bunch sprint in this season’s edition of La Primavera is highly anticipated, Cancellara emphasized that given the excellent shape of many riders in the peloton the action can develop in several different directions and confirmed that the weather is expected to be one of the decisive factors.

"We've seen a lot of good riders at Paris-Nice and Tirreno-Adriatico and so with the easier parcours, people are thinking it'll automatically be a bunch sprint. But well have to see," he said.

"The rain could be a factor for example. We have to take it as it comes. It all depends on what happens between Milan and Genoa, then from Genoa to San Remo, with things like the weather, the rain and the wind. They are all little things but they all count. It will be hard, it'll be tough but it will be a unique race again."

Not mentioning directly his plans to hang up the wheels no later than when his current contract with Trek Factory Racing comes to an end, clearly inspired by celebrating his birthday Cancellara shared some reflection about the new generation of classics specialists eagerly fighting for their space at the front of the peloton. However, the 33-year old Swiss underlined the meaning of the experience as a factor certainly working in his favour as the most important period of his 2014 season approaches.

"A new generation is not coming, it's already here. But it's good and positive for the sport," Cancellara said.

"I don’t feel old but I'm an oldie. It's been 14 years, so I'm old in some ways. Sometimes I feel old when I see how young the riders are. In a race everyone is the same but if you look at them, they're really young."

"I've been in this sport for 14 years and for me it's great that there are young rider challenging but they're not mature yet, they still need some years," he warned.

"For example a lot of people thought Kwiatkowski was going to win Tirreno-Adriatico but he suffered on the long stage and paid for it. But can you imagine where he'll be in two years time? I think that's great."

"It's also inspiration for me. I don’t want to get my ass kicked by young kids."