Santa Rosa, 2009-08-07

Having spent much of the 2009 domestic racing season as de facto director for the BMC Racing Team, Mike Sayers has signed a contract with the team which will keep him working with them through 2011.

“It is the position I have wanted for a long time and I think I can even say this is the culmination of my entire career,” said Sayers who retired from professional racing last year after 14 seasons.

Timing is everything

Since BMC has been carefully ramping up its operations over the past two seasons, the taking on of a full-time Assistant Director was certainly something they planned on doing, but only at the right moment. “Even before I retired, I knew I wanted this position,” Sayers revealed. “It wasn’t possible for General Manager Gavin Chilcott to take me on immediately, but he kept me in the mix all season.” With a couple different industry offers to chose from, Sayers had to make a decision. “About 6 or 7 weeks ago I went to Gavin to let him know I had this pretty attractive offer and whether BMC had something they could counter with,” Sayers said. “He told me that the timing was perfect and after talking with Jim Ochowicz, came back with this offer which I jumped at. I really wanted this job over any other and the perfect storm came together just at the right time to make it happen.”

First choice

As Mike Sayers spent much of his time during his racing career guiding younger teammates, it seems only natural that he would take this step to become an official Director. “From maybe my first year as a professional, I have looked at the Director’s job as being what I really want to do,” Sayers explained. “Working for BMC was my first choice since it is such a great organization.” Prepared to act as a stateside or European Director, Sayers feels it’s not the place but the organization that counts. “First and foremost Mike will be the Assistant Director in charge of the US side of racing which means he will be my eyes and ears in the US,” Directeur Sportif John Lelangue explained. “I’m really happy to be working with him since he has the necessary experience which means that I can have total confidence in whatever strategy he adopts for a particular race.” BMC will also be including Sayers in larger European races where a second team car is required. “I can’t say at which races in Europe he’ll be yet, but I already know he will be an enormous help since we share the same philosophy and strategy,” Lelangue said.

The consummate teammate

As for the BMC management, they are very pleased to have someone of Sayers’ experience and work ethic on the team to help guide the riders. “As a rider, Mike was the consummate teammate. After working with him these last three years, I realize that being a teammate is a fundamental part of his character and not something he learned as a rider,” General Manager Gavin Chilcott explained. “That’s important for every individual person on a team, no matter what their role. So he’s fitting in well with us on the management side, and the team members feel very good about the job that he’s doing as a sport director. He understands our goals, and saw the potential of this program very early in its evolution.” Directeur Sportif John Lelangue is also extremely excited about Sayers joining the program. “He was always my first choice for the second team director, and it is a real pleasure working with him,” Lelangue concluded.