Manuel "Manolo" Saiz Balbás (born 16 October 1959 in

Torrelavega Torrelavega (Cantabrian dialect, Cantabrian: ''Torlavega'') is a Municipio, municipality and important industrial and commercial hub in the single province Autonomous communities of Spain, Autonomous Community of Cantabria, northern Spain. It is s ...

, Cantabria) is the former team manager of one of the most successful Spanish professional

road bicycle racing Road bicycle racing is the cycle sport discipline of road cycling, held primarily on Road surface, paved roads. Road racing is the most popular professional sport, professional form of bicycle racing, in terms of numbers of competitors, events and ...

teams, first called

Team ONCE ONCE cycling team, () also known as Liberty Seguros, Liberty Seguros–Würth and in succession in its final year, Astana–Würth and Astana was a Spanish cycling team. It competed in the UCI ProTour circuit. On 25 May 2006, Liberty Mutual (" ...

, 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 Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina *Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses *Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss Internation ...

Alex Zülle Alex Zülle (born 5 July 1968) is a Swiss former professional road bicycle racer. During the 1990s he was one of the most successful cyclists in the world, winning the 1996 and 1997 Vuelta a España, taking second place in the 1995 and the 1 ...

; 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 Joseba Beloki Dorronsoro (born 12 August 1973) is a Spanish former professional road bicycle racer. Tour successes Beloki turned professional in 1998 with , joined in 2000, and then in 2001. A strong climber in the high mountains and a top p ...

. ONCE dominated

team time trial A team time trial (TTT) is a road bicycle race in which teams of cyclists race against the clock (see individual time trial for a more detailed description of ITT events). The winning team in a TTT is determined by the comparing the times of ( ...

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 Liberty Seguros is an international subsidiary of Liberty Mutual Group, a Boston-based insurance company. Sponsorships Liberty Seguros sponsored the UCI ProTour cycling team, Liberty Seguros – Würth, but dropped the sponsorship on 25 May ...

(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 The 1998 Tour de France was the 85th edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's Grand Tours. The race was composed of 21 stages and a prologue. It started on 11 July in Ireland before taking an anti-clockwise route through France to finis ...

Saiz withdrew the ONCE-Deutsche Bank team. On 17 June 1999 The organisers of the

1999 Tour de France The 1999 Tour de France was a multiple stage bicycle race held from 3 to 25 July, and the 86th edition of the Tour de France. It has no overall winner—although American cyclist Lance Armstrong originally won the event, the United States Anti-D ...

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: " havestuffed 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 and his company, Active Bay, was stripped of its ProTour license, which was awarded to the company backing Astana Team. Saiz was cleared of damaging public health and managed a restaurant and wedding catering business in his home region of Cantabria for several years. In August 2013, he expressed an interest in returning to cycling.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saiz, Manolo 1959 births Living people People from Torrelavega Doping cases in cycling