[9] Following the folding of Mapei–Quick-Step at the end of the 2002 season, Cancellara joined Fassa Bortolo to work as a lead-out man for Alessandro Petacchi in 2003.

[17] His final victory of the season came in the Tour de Suisse's prologue, where he beat out Spaniard Óscar Pereiro by a little over a second for the win.

[22] Cancellara's next success came in the Tour de Luxembourg, where he won the stage four individual time trial by fourteen seconds over the second-place finisher.

[24] Cancellara won the prologue of the Tour de France in London, defeating Andreas Klöden of Astana by thirteen seconds.

[69][70] Cancellara won the prologue of the Tour of California ahead of Olympic track gold medalist Bradley Wiggins in his first race of the season.

[87] After finishing with the Olympics, Cancellara decided not to defend his world time trial title in Varese due to mental fatigue.

[88] For his successes on the road in the 2008 season, Cancellara was named the Swiss Male Athlete of the Year at the Credit Suisse Sports Awards on 6 December 2008.

[97] A week after finishing the Tour de Suisse, he won his first Swiss national road racing crown on 28 June after outsprinting Mathias Frank at the line.

[110] In late March, Cancellara won the E3 Prijs Vlaanderen after riding away from Boonen and Juan Antonio Flecha with about 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) remaining in the race.

[122][123] Later in the Tour, Cancellara won the stage nineteen individual time trial that stretched from Bordeaux to Pauillac by seventeen seconds over German rider Tony Martin.

[126][127] In 2010, former cyclist Davide Cassani claimed in a YouTube video that Fabian Cancellara had used a motorized bike during his victories at the Tour of Flanders and the Paris–Roubaix that year.

[131] Critics of the motor-theory often say that the Gruber Assist was way too noisy that time and in solo ride or a smaller group it could have surely been heard when turned on.

[132] The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) stated that whilst they are not investigating any specific teams or riders, it would review the need for a new bicycle inspection system to detect such cheating.

"[129] During an April 2017 press conference, just before his final Ronde van Vlaanderen, Tom Boonen was asked if it was always the strongest rider who wins the Tour of Flanders.

He lived up to his expectations and won the E3 Prijs Vlaanderen – Harelbeke after having several flat tires and a few bike changes, he launched a solo attack with 16 kilometres (9.9 mi) and rode by himself to the finish line for the victory.

[143] Cancellara finished in second place after a crash hurt him early on, as did being a member of a chasing group that did not work with him to catch the leading riders.

Cancellara came with the hopes of winning a third consecutive time trial world crown; however, he would finish in third place after the winner Martin and runner-up Wiggins.

Cancellara was one of the favourites to win the renewed Tour of Flanders but played no part in the final due to a crash in the feed zone.

[160] He subsequently lost the jersey to Wiggins of Team Sky after conceding almost two minutes on the seventh stage, which finished on top of a steep Category 1 climb leading to Planche des Belles Filles.

He was the leading rider of a massive breakaway when he badly negotiated a right turn with about 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) to cover and fell heavily on his right shoulder.

He completed the race, finishing approximately five minutes after the winner, the Kazakh Alexander Vinokourov, but was in obvious pain and could not hold his handlebar properly with his right hand.

[174][175] The race was marred by poor weather conditions, but Cancellara remained near the front and managed to place third overall after losing out in the sprint for the finish line.

[184][185] After the race, Cancellara stated that he would enter neither the Giro d'Italia or the Tour de France, but instead ride the Vuelta a España in order to prepare for the UCI Road World Championships.

[202] Cancellara entered the Vuelta a España and helped assist RadioShack-Leopard to a second-place finish in the race's opening team time trial.

[203] He won the stage eleven individual time trial by a margin of 37 seconds over reigning world champion Tony Martin.

[204] Cancellara then rode in support of team leader and eventual Vuelta winner Chris Horner until the seventeenth stage, after which he left the race in order to focus on the World Championships.

[209] In late December, RadioShack-Leopard's general manager Luca Guercilena announced that Fabian Cancellara would attempt to break the hour record during the 2014 season.

[231][234] In September, Cancellara announced he would not compete in the World Championship Time Trial event, concentrating his energy for the road race which profile he said suited him.

The following week, Cancellara crashed badly in E3 Harelbeke, suffering two minor fractures in the transverse processes of his lower vertebrae.

[246] Entering his last season as a professional, he started with a win in the Trofeo Serra de Tramuntana, part of the Vuelta a Mallorca, in late January.