One of the greatest cyclists of all time is ending his career the greatest way possible

Fabian Cancellara was already one of the greatest cyclists of all time, but after his ride in Rio on Wednesday he became even greater.

A quick glance at Cancellara's résumé shows that the Swiss rider they call Spartacus has won seven stages in the Tour de France as well as gold medals in the time trial at the world championships, national championships, and Olympic Games. He has won big stage races too.

While an excellent time trialist - for years the world's very best - Cancellara is perhaps best known as one of the greatest classics riders ever. He has won the cobbled Paris-Roubaix and Tour of Flanders three times each. He won another monument, Milan-Sanremo, for good measure - not to mention Strade Bianche three times and E3 Harelbeke three times.

So what better way to end such a storied career than to win a gold medal at the Olympics, which is what he did on Wednesday, beating the rising star Tom Dumoulin of the Netherlands and three-time Tour de France champion Chris Froome of Britain. Cancellara covered the 54.5-kilometer (33.9-mile route) in 1:12:15 to beat Dumoulin by 47 seconds and Froome by over a minute. The powerful Swiss rider's average speed was 45.3 kph (28.1 mph).

Cancellara, 35, insisted he would not reverse his decision to retire at the end of the year. "No, definitely not! I said at the beginning of the year what was going to happen this year," AFP reported. "Everyone has their own choice of when they want to continue ... It means a lot to participate in sport's highest event that the world presents and to win the gold medal in my retirement year, I think I'm just super proud."

Here are some photos from Cancellara's remarkable career: