Swiss rider Fabian Cancellara will be looking to add to his seven stage wins as he takes on 'Le Tour' for the ninth time.

Cancellara’s best chance at the Tour de France comes in the penultimate stage, in Bergerac, for the 54km time trial.

The 33-year-old has been victorious in the Time Trial Road World Championships four times and won Olympic gold at Beijing for the same event.

Nicknamed Spartacus, he made his first impact on the global stage when he won the green jersey at the 2003 Tour de Romandie, in his native country, for being the overall points classification winner.

Cancellara won his first Tour de France stage the following year and wore the yellow jersey after winning the prologue.

The Trek Factory Racing rider’s best year came in 2009 when he won a third World Time Trial Championship, a first National Road Race Championship, and achieved overall and points victory at the Tour de Suisse.

In the same year, the Swiss wore the maillot jaune for six stages in 'Le Tour' and held the gold jersey at the Vuelta a Espana for a total of five stages.