After Chris Horner (Lampre-Merida), the second top-class player, who has not had a team before, has also found a new sporting home. The Asturian Samuel Sanchez, Olympic champion in Beijing, had initially hoped for a commitment to the team of Formula 1 star Fernando Alonso after the dissolution of the Euskaltel-Euskadi team. But when this didn't materialize either, he had to start looking again. He has now found a new sporting home with the US WorldTour team BMC. This confirmed the The team's general manager, Jim Ochowicz.
The 35-year-old Spaniard became Olympic champion in road racing in Beijing in 2008. He finished second overall at the 2009 Vuelta a España. The following year he was third in the Tour de France. At the 2011 Tour of France, he won the mountain prize classification and stood on the podium with overall winner Cadel Evans in Paris. "Sammy brings a wide range of skills and a wealth of experience", says Ochowicz happily. "He can score on all levels, but above all he will support his teammates in the Ardennes Classics and in the Grand Tours." Sánchez has taken part in 14 three-week national tours and has completed 2012 of them. He notched up several stage victories. He also won the 2011 Vuelta Ciclista al Pais Vasco, 2011 the GP Miguel Indurain 2010, 2010 the Vuelta A Burgos 2007 and in 2012 and XNUMX two stages at the Volta a Catalunya. At BMC, he should primarily support the Australian Cadel Evans. Sanchez will also be teammates with the two Germans Marcus Burghardt and Dominik Nerz.