Manolo Saiz

Manolo Saiz

Personal information
Full name	Manolo Sainz
Born	October 16, 1959 (1959-10-16) (age 52)  Spain
Team information
Role	Manager
Managerial team(s)
1989-2003 2004 ?	Team ONCE Liberty Seguros-Würth Astana-Würth Astana Team
Infobox last updated on January, 2009

Manolo Saiz of the Liberty Seguros-Würth team riding in the team car. The car carries spare bikes and wheels

Manuel "Manolo" Saiz Balbás (born 16 October 1959, Torrelavega, Cantabria) is the former team manager of one of the most successful Spanish professional road bicycle racing teams, first called Team ONCE, then Liberty Seguros-Würth, Astana-Würth, and lastly Astana Team.

Saiz was a hands-on manager and directeur sportif. He consolidated his riders' training and hired staff to manage their coaching and racing. Despite not having a racing background, he nurtured ONCE to become one of the biggest teams. His riders included Frenchman Laurent Jalabert and Swiss Alex Zülle; both dominated the Vuelta a España, each winning the general and other classifications. In 1995 Jalabert achieved the trifecta by winning the general classification along with the points and King of the Mountains.

Saiz's next riders included Spaniard Abraham Olano, Igor González de Galdeano and Joseba Beloki. ONCE dominated team time trials in the Tour de France.

At the end of the 2003 ONCE discontinued sponsorship, saying penetration was 100% in Spain, meaning every Spaniard knew what ONCE was. Saiz brought Liberty Seguros (the Spanish branch of the US company Liberty Mutual) and Würth, a German assembly technology company to be co-sponsor.

Controversy

1998 - Festina affair

During the turmoil of the Festina affair during the 1998 Tour de France Saiz withdrew the ONCE-Deutsche Bank team.

On June 17, 1999 The organisers of the 1999 Tour de France took the unprecedented step of banning teams, team officials and individual riders in the aftermath of the Festina affair. This included both Saiz and Dr Nicolas Terrados team doctor of Team ONCE. The ban was in relation to the actions and behaviour of these teams and riders during the 1998 Tour^[1][2] when Saiz withdrew his riders and said:

“

"... [I have] stuffed a finger up the Tour's arse."

”

Richard Virenque's lawyers depended on a clause in the UCI's rules, number 1.2.048, which says that tour organisers must say at least 30 days before a race whom they wished to admit. The Tour had not done so. The UCI also obliged the Tour to accept Saiz.

2006 - Operación Puerto

On 23 May 2006, Saiz was arrested in connection with the Operación Puerto scandals. He resigned.^[3] His company Active Bay was stripped of its ProTour license, which was awarded to the company backing Astana Team.

References

1. ^ "Richard Virenque banned from Tour de France". Cyclingnews.com. http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/results/1999/jun99/jun17.shtml. Retrieved 2008-06-06. 
2. ^ "Dutch Team Is Also Refused Invitation:Tour Bans 4 Cyclists From This Year's Race". International Herald Tribune. http://www.iht.com/articles/1999/06/17/bike.2.t_2.php. Retrieved 2008-06-06. 
3. ^ Eurosport, TdF, 2006

Persondata
Name	Saiz, Manolo
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	October 16, 1959
Place of birth
Date of death
Place of death