Fabien Sanchez

Fabien Sanchez

Personal information
Full name	Fabien Sanchez
Born	30 March 1983 Hyères, France
Height	1.87 m (6 ft 1 ^1⁄2 in)
Weight	77 kg (170 lb)
Team information
Current team	Retired
Discipline	Track
Role	Rider
Rider type	Pursuit
Amateur team(s)
2007–2009	Veloclub La Pomme Marseille
2010	Amical Vélo Club Aix-en-Provence
Professional team(s)
2003–2004	FDJeux.com
2005	Française des Jeux
2006	Cofidis
Major wins
French Track Cycling Championships (Pursuit) (2004, 2007) French Track Cycling Championships (Team pursuit) (2005) French Track Cycling Championships (Points race) (2008)
Medal record Men's track cycling Representing  France World Championships 2003 Stuttgart Team pursuit
Infobox last updated on October 15, 2013

Fabien Sanchez (born March 30, 1983 in Hyères) is a retired French professional track cyclist.^[1] He won the bronze medal in men's team pursuit at the 2003 UCI Track Cycling World Championships, and later represented his nation France in two editions of the Olympic Games (2004 and 2008). Before his official retirement in late 2008, Sanchez rode for three seasons on the FDJeux.com pro cycling team, following by his annual stint on Cofidis in 2006. Sanchez is also a four-time French track cycling champion in both the individual and team pursuit and in the points race.

Racing career

Before his professional cycling career, Sanchez sought headlines in the international scene, when he led the French team for the gold in a team pursuit final match against the Germans at the 2001 UCI Junior Track Cycling World Championships in Trexlertown, Pennsylvania, United States.^[2]

In August 2003, Sanchez turned his sights to professional cycling when he signed a triple seasonal contract with FDJeux.com. On that same year, he delivered the French foursome a bronze-medal time of 4:04.119 to defeat the Russians in men's team pursuit at the UCI Track Cycling World Championships in Stuttgart, Germany, earning them a guaranteed spot for the Olympics.^[3][4]

An official member of the French cycling team, Sanchez made his debut at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, where he finished sixth in the men's individual pursuit (4:21.235), and seventh in the men's team pursuit (4:07.336), along with Anthony Langella, Mathieu Ladagnous, and Jérôme Neuville.^[5][6][7]

Shortly after the 2004 Summer Olympics, Sanchez extended his career resume by scoring two triumphs each in men's individual and team pursuit at the French Championships, while competing for Française des Jeux and Cofidis pro cycling teams. At the end of 2006 season, Sanchez decided to return to his amateur sporting career, and later joined the La Pomme Marseille Cycling Club (French: Vélo-Club La Pomme Marseille).^[8]

The following year, Sanchez qualified for his second French squad, as a 25-year-old, in the men's individual pursuit at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing based on the nation's selection process from the UCI Track World Rankings.^[9] Sanchez could not produce a more striking effort in the prelims after losing out his 4 km opening match to Australia's Brett Lancaster by a seven-second gap in 4:33.100, dropping him to fifteenth place in the overall standings.^{[7][10][11][12]}

Setting up his official retirement from competitive cycling in 2010, Sanchez currently works on a full-time position as an athletic director for La Pomme Marseille Cycling Club (French: Vélo-Club La Pomme Marseille).^[13]

Career highlights

2001

UCI Junior World Championships (Team pursuit), Trexlertown, Pennsylvania (USA)

2003

UCI Track Cycling World Championships (Team pursuit), Stuttgart (GER)

3rd French Championships (Individual pursuit), Hyères (FRA)

2004

1st French Championships (Individual pursuit), Hyères

6th Olympic Games (Individual pursuit), Athens (GRE)

7th Olympic Games (Team pursuit), Athens (GRE)

2005

1st French Championships (Team pursuit), France

2nd French Championships (Individual pursuit), France

2007

1st French Championships (Individual pursuit), Hyères (FRA)

2nd French Championships (Points race), Hyères (FRA)

3rd French Championships (Team pursuit), Hyères (FRA)

2008

1st French Championships (Points race), France

2nd French Championships (Individual pursuit), France

15th Olympic Games (Individual pursuit), Beijing (CHN)

References

1. "Fabien Sanchez". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 15 October 2013.
2. "Junior World Track Championships – CM". Cycling News. 1 July 2001. Retrieved 15 October 2013.
3. "Record pursuit riders say they can go faster". The Age. 4 August 2003. Retrieved 11 October 2013.
4. "Aussies set record in team pursuit". Sports Illustrated. CNN. 2 August 2003. Retrieved 15 October 2013.
5. "Cycling: Men's Individual Pursuit". Athens 2004. BBC Sport. 15 August 2004. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
6. "Cycling: Men's Team Pursuit". Athens 2004. BBC Sport. 15 August 2004. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
7. "La France à toute allure" [France at full speed] (in French). News24. 15 August 2008. Retrieved 11 October 2013.
8. "News du Velo Club La Pomme Marseille" [News of Velo Club La Pomme Marseille] (in French). Velo Club. 23 August 2007. Retrieved 15 October 2013.
9. "Les poursuiteurs à Pékin" [The chasers in Beijing] (in French). Le Figaro. 27 March 2008. Retrieved 15 October 2013.
10. "Beijing 2008: Cycling – Men's Individual Pursuit Qualification" (PDF). Beijing 2008. NBC Olympics. p. 1306. Retrieved 21 December 2012.
11. "Phinney qualifies for next round". Velo News. 16 August 2008. Retrieved 10 October 2013.
12. Schlink, Leo (15 August 2008). "Distraught Katie Mactier scrapes through qualifying". The Daily Telegraph. Fox Sports (Australia). Retrieved 10 October 2013.
13. "Fabien Sanchez raccroche en paix" [Fabien Sanchez hangs in peace] (in French). Cyclismag. 8 December 2010. Retrieved 15 October 2013.

External links

• French Olympic Team Profile (French)
• NBC Olympics Profile
• Fabien Sanchez profile at Cycling Archives