Sander Kruis aims to leverage his experience from football club RBC and cycling team Visma Lease a Bike to achieve success with Stake F1/Sauber, which will be taken over by Audi next season. The Dutchman was previously involved in a transformation with the cycling team, which evolved from the underdog of the peloton to Tour de France winner. “I believe that success can be created when we bring together money and vision,” he says.
Sander Kruis, born in Roosendaal and raised in the nearby Oud-Gastel, was enrolled by his father at RBC at the age of five. He went through the entire youth training and made five appearances in the main team in the 2010-2011 season. After the bankruptcy of the football club from Roosendaal, he tried his luck at Jong Sparta and later at TOP Oss, eventually ending up in amateur football, first at RKSV Halsteren and later at Internos.
Meanwhile, Kruis pursued a degree in Sports Marketing at the Johan Cruyff University. As an intern at Blanco Pro Cycling Team (now Visma Lease a Bike), he began to question his future. “I had already experienced the football world and wondered: is this it? I am still convinced that I could have been a good Eredivisie player, but when I had the chance to go to the Tour de France, I seized it. There were tears,” he admits, “but looking back and seeing what it has brought me, I am only proud of that choice.”
Money Alone is Not Enough
Kruis has risen from intern to commercial director, no longer scoring on the field but through business deals such as securing major sponsorship contracts. Thanks to these efforts, the cycling team has found its way back to the top. In 2015, Lotto-Jumbo, as the team was also known, had its worst year ever with only six victories. However, in 2022, team leader Jonas Vingegaard was able to don the yellow jersey on the Champs-Élysées, and in 2023, the team crowned its success by becoming the first team ever to win all three major tours in a single season.
“As a footballer, I learned discipline, performance, and teamwork, which shaped me as a person. I went all out to develop myself, which coincided with the growth of the cycling team. The team was in a slump, people were leaving and being fired, which gave me a lot of room to take on responsibilities,” Kruis explains. “From day one, I was able to get involved in everything, from small intern tasks to major sponsorship contracts. I took the plunge and it turned out to be a wonderful journey.”
The Visma Lease a Bike chapter is now closed, and with Audi’s takeover of Stake F1/Sauber, the next transformation is already underway. “We need to involve the entire team in this,” Kruis, who holds the role of Head of Partnerships Acquisition, immediately clarifies. “It’s important to articulate our ambitions and define goals together. If we commit to this collectively, we can dream big. I believe that success can be created when we bring money and vision together. Without money, we can’t do anything, but money alone is not enough. With my experience at Visma Lease a Bike, Audi can expect me to play an appropriate role in this process. I remain Dutch, direct and outspoken, so I will certainly make my voice heard.”
