Manolo Saiz
Encyclopedia
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 trial
s 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.
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 when Saiz withdrew his riders and said:
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.
scandals. He resigned. His company Active Bay was stripped of its ProTour license, which was awarded to the company backing Astana Team
.
Torrelavega
Torrelavega is a municipality and important industrial and commercial hub in the single province Autonomous Community of Cantabria in northern Spain....
, Cantabria
Cantabria
Cantabria is a Spanish historical region and autonomous community with Santander as its capital city. It is bordered on the east by the Basque Autonomous Community , on the south by Castile and León , on the west by the Principality of Asturias, and on the north by the Cantabrian Sea.Cantabria...
) is the former team manager of one of the most successful Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
professional road bicycle racing
Road bicycle racing
Road bicycle racing is a bicycle racing sport held on roads, using racing bicycles. The term "road racing" is usually applied to events where competing riders start simultaneously with the winner being the first to the line at the end of the course .Historically, the most...
teams
Cycling team
A cycling team is a group of cyclists who join a team or are acquired and train together to compete in bicycle races whether recreational or professional - and the supporting personnel...
, first called Team ONCE, then Liberty Seguros-Würth, Astana-Würth, and lastly Astana Team
Astana Team
Astana is a professional road bicycle racing team sponsored by the Astana group, a coalition of state-owned companies from Kazakhstan and named after its capital city Astana. Astana attained UCI ProTeam status in its inaugural year, 2007...
.
Saiz was a hands-on manager and directeur sportif
Directeur sportif
A directeur sportif is a person directing a cycling team during a road bicycle racing event...
. 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
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
Laurent Jalabert
Laurent Jalabert
Laurent Jalabert is a French former professional road racing cyclist, from 1989 to 2002. Affectionately known as "Jaja" , he won many one-day and stage races and was ranked number 1 in the 1990s...
and Swiss
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
Alex Zülle
Alex Zülle
Alex Zülle is a Swiss former professional road bicycle racer. During the 1990s he was one of the best cyclists in the world, winning the Vuelta a España twice and taking the second place in 1999 Tour de France. He was world time-trial champion in Lugano in 1996.-Early career:Zülle was born and...
; both dominated the Vuelta a España
Vuelta a España
The Vuelta a España is a three-week road bicycle racing stage race that is one of the three "Grand Tours" of Europe and part of the UCI World Ranking calendar. The race lasts three weeks and attracts cyclists from around the world. The race is broken into day-long segments, called stages...
, each winning the general and other classifications. In 1995 Jalabert achieved the trifecta
Trifecta
In horse racing terminology, a trifecta is a parimutuel bet in which the bettor must predict which horses will finish first, second, and third in exact order. The word comes from the related betting term, "perfecta". A trifecta is known as a tiercé in France and Hong Kong and as a tris in Italy.It...
by winning the general classification along with the points and King of the Mountains
King of the Mountains
The King of the Mountains is the title given to the best climber in a cycling road race; usually and officially known as the Mountains classification...
.
Saiz's next riders included Spaniard Abraham Olano
Ábraham Olano
Abraham Olano Manzano is a Spanish Basque former professional road racing cyclist. His crowning achievement came in 1995 when he became World Road Champion...
, Igor González de Galdeano
Igor González de Galdeano
Igor González de Galdeano Aranzabal is a Spanish former professional road bicycle racer and current team manager of UCI ProTeam...
and Joseba Beloki
Joseba Beloki
Joseba Beloki Dorronsoro is a Spanish former professional road bicycle racer.-Biography:Beloki turned professional in 1998 with Euskaltel-Euskadi, joined Festina in 2000, and then Team ONCE in 2001...
. ONCE dominated team time trial
Team time trial
A team time trial is a road-based bicycle race in which teams of cyclists race against the clock .Teams start at equal intervals, usually two, three or four minutes apart...
s in the Tour de France
Tour de France
The Tour de France is an annual bicycle race held in France and nearby countries. First staged in 1903, the race covers more than and lasts three weeks. As the best known and most prestigious of cycling's three "Grand Tours", the Tour de France attracts riders and teams from around the world. The...
.
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
Liberty Seguros
Liberty Seguros is an international subsidiary of Liberty Mutual Group, a Boston-based insurance company.-Cycling teams:Liberty Seguros sponsored the UCI ProTour cycling team, Liberty Seguros – Würth, but dropped the sponsorship on 25 May 2006 due to the Operación Puerto doping case, involving the...
(the Spanish branch of the US company Liberty Mutual
Liberty Mutual
Liberty Mutual Group, more commonly known by the name of its primary line of business Liberty Mutual, is a diversified global insurer and the third largest property and casualty insurer in the United States based on 2010 net written premium. It is the 82nd company on the Fortune 500 list for 2011...
) and Würth
Würth
The Würth Group is a worldwide wholesaler of fasteners, screws and screw accessories, dowels, chemicals, furniture and construction fittings, tools, machines, installation material, automotive hardware, inventory management, storage and retrieval systems. Würth was founded in 1945 by Adolf Würth...
, a German assembly technology company to be co-sponsor.
1998 - Festina affair
During the turmoil of the Festina affairFestina affair
The Festina Affair refers to the events that surrounded several doping scandals, doping investigations and confessions by riders to doping that occurred during and after the 1998 Tour de France. The affair began when a large haul of doping products was found in a car of the Festina cycling team...
during the 1998 Tour de France
1998 Tour de France
The 1998 Tour de France, also called the Tour du Dopage , was marred by doping scandals throughout known as the Festina affair, starting with the arrest of Willy Voet, a soigneur in the French Festina team. Voet was traveling into France when he was arrested and found with large quantities of...
Saiz withdrew the ONCE-Deutsche Bank team.
On June 17, 1999 The organisers of the 1999 Tour de France
1999 Tour de France
The 1999 Tour de France was the 86th Tour de France, taking place from July 3 to July 25, 1999. It was won by Lance Armstrong, his first of 7 consecutive wins, the most in Tour history. There were no French stage winners for the first time since the 1926 Tour de France.The 1999 edition of Tour de...
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 when Saiz withdrew his riders and said:
Richard Virenque
Richard Virenque
Richard VirenqueRichard Virenque's name is pronounced Ree-shah Vee-rahnk. Virenque considers himself a man of the South but pronounces his name in standard French. Confusion is caused by the southern habit of pronouncing "en" as "ang" or "eng", making it Vee-rank. But Virenque says Vee-rahnk or...
'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 PuertoOperación Puerto doping case
Operación Puerto is the code name of a Spanish Police operation against the doping network of Doctor Eufemiano Fuentes, started in May 2006, which resulted in a scandal that involved several of the world most famous cyclists at the time.Media attention has focused on the small number of...
scandals. He resigned. His company Active Bay was stripped of its ProTour license, which was awarded to the company backing Astana Team
Astana Team
Astana is a professional road bicycle racing team sponsored by the Astana group, a coalition of state-owned companies from Kazakhstan and named after its capital city Astana. Astana attained UCI ProTeam status in its inaugural year, 2007...
.