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| CSC-Saxo Bank was at the head of the peloton, because one of its riders, the diminutive Carlos Sastre, was wearing the coveted maillot jaune and was about to win the race |
Still, Saxo Bank’s decision to add its name to the sponsorship of Team CSC in early June will be widely viewed as either a brave or foolish move. The team is owned and managed by 1996 Tour de France winner Bjarne Riis, who, unlike most of those of his peers who are equally guilty, has had the courage to admit that he did resort to using performance-enhancing drugs.
Those who know him are convinced that Riis is a genuine poacher turned gamekeeper. Team CSC-Saxo Bank has one of the strictest anti-doping policies in cycling and its riders have a strong sense of discipline and camaraderie. Riis’s policies all paid off when this year’s Tour de France rode to its conclusion in Paris on July 27. CSC-Saxo Bank was at the head of the peloton, because one of its riders, the diminutive Carlos Sastre, was wearing the coveted maillot jaune and was about to win the race.
CSC-Saxo Bank also took the team prize and in Andy Schleck, who won the best young rider (under 25) category, it has a possible future winner of the Tour. Saxo has got all of this for what it probably costs to sponsor the left rear-view mirror of a Formula One car, and its two founders, Kim Fournais and Lars Seier Christensen, are convinced that they have got into sport sponsorship at the bottom of the market, giving further credence to the old saying: Why be good if you can be lucky?
