Fabian Cancellara's 2016 season started well with a stage win at the Tour of Oman. He finished second at the prologue of Tirreno-Adriatico. During the Milan-San Remo, he was present at the front of the race and sprinted to a seventh place. But at the E3 Harelbeke, he crashed and suffered two minor fractures and he had to end his spring classic campaign. Some months later, he was involved in a mass crash on the third stage of the Tour de France while wearing yellow. He was also ill in the Vuelta a España, putting him out early and making his world championship goals impossible.

Trek Factory Racing general manager Luca Guercilena was interviewed by CyclingTips about his presence in the recent Japan Cup. "The decision was made in the first week of October because even after his sickness and mental tiredness, we wanted to focus on a relative ‘doable’ target in order not have a too-long season break. The goal is just to be back in a race and finish the season, counting on giving the body the right ‘shake-up’ looking toward 2016."

"The injuries from March and July are fixed and also the sickness from the Vuelta is gone. It was obviously a hard season but being back in the peloton gives the opportunity to see a shining light for a good season’s end and a complete recovery", he added.