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WHO IS LUIS LEON SANCHEZ?

Saturday, 12 July 2008
By Alasdair Fotheringham
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Weird but true: if Luis Leon Sanchez father had not been the victim of a terrorist attack, his son would probably never been a cyclist, let alone win stage seven of the Tour.

Sanchez father was a policeman in the Basque Country on patrol in Bilbao when an ETA
terrorist, driving a car, attempted to run him. The car went over Luis Sanchez father’s legs, and therapy was ordered by the doctor for the major injuries to his limbs was - riding a bike.

Luis Leon and his three brothers - one of whom, Leon, was killed a couple of years back in a
motorbike accident, and to whom Luis Leon dedicated the victory - started riding bikes too to
keep their father company. Luis Leon was four. That was the start of Sanchez long road to
victory in yesterday’s stage seven.

As a teenager, Luis Leon started off as a trackie, winning several prizes at national level.
Consistent if not brilliant riding caught the attention of Liberty Seguros manager Manolo Saiz,
and he then joined the team as a pro in 2004.

A great friend of Alejandro Valverde’s - they both come from Murcia - Sanchez instantly started winning minor events in Spain, like stages of the Clasica Alcobendas and the Tour of Asturias. Victory in the Tour Down Under in 2005 - where a certain team-mate called Alberto Contador provided strong support - was his first big breakthrough on an international level.

Stage victories two years running in Paris-Nice have both come thanks to downhill attacks. In
2007 as a new member of the Caisse D’Epargne team, his move scuppered an attack, ironically enough, by Contador - who went on to win the race overall in any case.

One of the top riders in Spain against the clock, Sanchez recently won the national time trial
championships. In the Tour his role is principally to provide support for Valverde. But should a stage win like yesterday’s come up, the 24-year-old is quick to take it with both hands.