Team information | ||
---|---|---|
UCI code | BIA | |
Registered | Italy | |
Founded | 1899 | |
Disbanded | 2003 | |
Discipline(s) | Road | |
Status | Retired | |
Bicycles | Bianchi | |
Team name history | ||
1899–1900 1905–1908 1909 1910–1913 1914 1915–1918 1919–1920 1921 1922 1923–1926 1927–1928 1928 1929–1932 1933–1948 1949–1950 1951–1959 1960–1964 1965–1966 1973–1977 1978–1979 1980–1984 1985–1986 1987–1989 1993 2003 | Bianchi Bianchi Bianchi–Pirelli Bianchi Bianchi–Dei Bianchi Bianchi–Pirelli Bianchi–Dunlop Bianchi–Salga Bianchi Bianchi–Pirelli Mirandola–Bianchi–Pirelli Bianchi–Pirelli Bianchi Bianchi–Ursus Bianchi–Pirelli Bianchi Bianchi–Mobylette Bianchi–Campagnolo Bianchi–Faema Bianchi–Piaggio Sammontana–Bianchi Gewiss–Bianchi Bianchi–Freetime Team Bianchi | |
|
Bianchi was an Italian professional cycling team that was sponsored by and cycled on Bianchi Bicycles. A Bianchi cycling team existed in 1899 which implies that Bianchi was sponsoring professional cycling at a very early stage in the sport. It appears that the team existed from 1899 to 1900, then from 1905 to 1966, then from 1973 until 1984. It existed again in 1993 and for the last time in 2003, as Team Bianchi. In addition Bianchi has been a co-sponsor of many cycling teams.
In 1899 Giovanni Tommaselli won the first international cycling victory for Bianchi at the world championship of track racing: the Grand Prix of Paris . [1] During the existence of the Bianchi team in Italy in 1919–1920, Bianchi was also a co-sponsor of a French team that was called Peugeot–Bianchi–Pirelli which according to a historical cycling website, the team rode on Peugeot bikes. [2] It is possible that this team rode on Bianchi bikes in Italy.
The team had many famous cyclists on the team over the course of its existence. In 1945, Fausto Coppi joined the team and would stay with the team until 1956 and 1958. It has been said that the team of the mid-1940s was built around Coppi. [3] During this time the Tour de France was disputed by national teams and Coppi won the Tour in 1949 and 1952. Coppi won the Giro d'Italia for the team in 1947, 1949, 1952 and 1953. Coppi became the first cyclist in history to achieve the Giro-Tour double. For which it was suggested at the time that he was the greatest cyclist ever seen. [4] During this time, the directeur sportifs were Giovanni Tragella and Franco Aguggini.
In the seventies, Bianchi returned as main sponsor to the peloton in the Bianchi–Campagnolo team that contained the 1972 and 1973 world champions Marino Basso and Felice Gimondi. This team was the continuation of the Salvarani team that Gimondi had started his career with and which, in 1972, was directed by 1965 Giro d'Italia champion and 1968 World Champion Vittorio Adorni who had retired from professional racing just two years previously. Adorni directed the Bianchi–Campagnolo team with Giancarlo Ferretti in 1973. Ferretti took over as the main directeur sportif of the team the following year. This team also included the four-time winner of the Vuelta a Colombia Martin Emilio Rodriguez who won stages in the Giro d'Italia.
Finally Team Bianchi was main sponsor when German Jan Ullrich challenged American Lance Armstrong in the Centenary edition of the Tour de France. [n 1]
After the cycling season of 2003 ended, Bianchi became co-sponsor of the Alessio–Bianchi team and again they were a co-sponsor of the Liquigas-Bianchi team for the 2005 season. In 2005 Bianchi also became the co-sponsor of the Norwegian cycling team Team Maxbo Bianchi, a continental cycling team, with whom they co-sponsored until the end of the 2010 season. [5] In October 2011, it was announced that Bianchi would be the bike sponsor of the Vancansoleil-DCM team on a two-year contract from 2012 [6] Since 2014, Bianchi is the supplier of Belkin Pro Cycling.
Bianchi became involved in sponsorship in Mountain biking in the early nineties. Bruno Zanchi won the first World Championship for Bianchi in 1991 in the downhill speciality. Two years later, Dario Acquaroli became World Champion in cross country for Bianchi. [7] From 2000 to 2006, the Bianchi MTB (Bianchi-Motorex and Bianchi-Agos) team dominated the sport with José Antonio Hermida and multiple World Champion Julien Absalon. [8] In 2007 the team was renamed Gewiss–Bianchi. [9]
Alfredo Binda was an Italian road cyclist of the 1920s and 1930s. He was the first to win five editions of the Giro d'Italia, and a three-time world champion. In addition he won Milan–San Remo twice, and the Tour of Lombardy four times.
Felice Gimondi was an Italian professional racing cyclist. With his 1968 victory at the Vuelta a España, only three years after becoming a professional cyclist, Gimondi, nicknamed "The Phoenix", was the second cyclist to win all three Grand Tours of road cycling: Tour de France, Giro d'Italia, and Vuelta a España (1968). He is one of only seven cyclists to have done so.
Roger De Vlaeminck is a Belgian former professional racing cyclist. He was described by Rik Van Looy as "The most talented and the only real classics rider of his generation". Nicknamed "The Gypsy" because he was born into a family of traveling clothiers, he is known for exploits in the cobbled classic Paris–Roubaix race, but his performances in other "Monument" races gave him a record that few can match. His record in Paris–Roubaix earned him another nickname, "Monsieur Paris–Roubaix".
Francesco Moser, nicknamed "Lo sceriffo", is an Italian former professional road bicycle racer. He finished on the podium of the Giro d'Italia six times including his win in the 1984 edition.
Claudio Chiappucci is a retired Italian professional cyclist. He was on the podium three times in the Tour de France general classification: second in 1990, third in 1991 and second again in 1992.
Giuseppe Saronni, also known as Beppe Saronni, is an Italian former racing cyclist. He had remarkable success riding in the Giro d'Italia. In 1980 he won 7 stages and finished 7th overall, in 1981 he won 3 stages and finished 3rd overall. In 1979 and 1983 he would win the Giro d'Italia and all total for his career win 24 stages in this race.
Costante Girardengo was an Italian professional road bicycle racer, considered by many to be one of the finest riders in the history of the sport. He was the first rider to be declared a "Campionissimo" or "champion of champions" by the Italian media and fans. At the height of his career, in the 1920s, he was said to be more popular than Mussolini and it was decreed that all express trains should stop in his home town Novi Ligure, an honour only normally awarded to heads of state.
Ercole Baldini was an Italian cyclist. As an amateur he won an Olympic gold medal in the road race and the world title in the individual pursuit on track, both in 1956. Next year he turned professional, and in 1958 won the world title in the road race and the Giro d'Italia. He continued competing on track and won bronze medals in the individual pursuit at the world championships of 1960 and 1964.
Learco Guerra was an Italian professional road racing cyclist. The highlight of his career was his overall win in the 1934 Giro d'Italia. He was born in San Nicolò Po, a frazione of Bagnolo San Vito in Lombardy, gained the nickname of "Human Locomotive" for his enduring quality in plain stages. After mediocre attempts to play football, Guerra became a professional cyclist in 1928, at 26. The following year he became Italian champion, racing as an independent or semi-professional.
Gaetano Belloni was an Italian professional road racing cyclist. The highlights of his career were his overall win in the 1920 Giro d'Italia, the two victories in Milan–San Remo, and the three victories in the Giro di Lombardia.
Silvano Contini is an Italian former professional road bicycle racer.
Alberto Elli is an Italian former road racing cyclist, who wore the yellow jersey for 4 days in the 2000 Tour de France. Elli was called up late for the 2000 Tour de France, and after a group of 12 cyclists stayed away from the others, Elli became a surprise leader, being the second oldest cyclist in the peloton. He kept the yellow jersey until the Pyrenées mountains, where he lost it to Lance Armstrong.
The 1977 Giro d'Italia was the 60th running of the Giro, one of cycling's Grand Tours. It started in Bacoli, on 20 May, with a 7 km (4.3 mi) prologue and concluded in Milan, on 13 June, with a 122 km (75.8 mi) mass-start stage. A total of 130 riders from thirteen teams entered the 22-stage race, that was won by Belgian Michel Pollentier of the Flandria team. The second and third places were taken by Italians Francesco Moser and Gianbattista Baronchelli, respectively. Freddy Maertens won 7 of the first 11 stages before abandoning due to a crash on Stage 8B.
The 1974 Giro d'Italia was the 57th running of the Giro, one of cycling's Grand Tours. It started in Vatican City, on 16 May, with a 164 km (102 mi) stage and concluded in Milan, on 8 June, with 257 km (160 mi) leg. A total of 140 riders from fourteen teams entered the 22-stage race, that was won by Belgian Eddy Merckx of the Molteni team. The second and third places were taken by Italians Gianbattista Baronchelli (Scic) and Felice Gimondi (Bianchi), respectively.
Mercatone Uno–Scanavino is a former professional cycling team which was based in San Marino and then in Italy. Throughout the 1990s it was one of the strongest Italian cycling teams in the peloton. The team was sponsored by a chain of supermarkets in Italy.
Rik Van Linden is a Belgian former road bicycle racer. He won the points classification in the 1975 Tour de France, ahead of Eddy Merckx.
The Giro d'Italia is an annual stage race bicycle race primarily held in Italy, while also occasionally passing through nearby countries. The race was first organized in 1909 to increase sales of the newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport; however it is currently run by RCS Sport. The race has been held annually since its first edition in 1909, except when it was stopped for the two world wars. As the Giro gained prominence and popularity the race was lengthened, and the peloton expanded from primarily Italian participation to riders from all over the world.
Legnano was an Italian professional cycling team active from 1906 to 1966. It is ranked as the 6th most successful cycling team in history. Many famous cyclists rode for the team including Alfredo Binda, Learco Guerra, Gino Bartali and Fausto Coppi. The team participated in the Giro d'Italia 46 times, won the team classification 11 times and earned 135 stage wins. It was sponsored by Italian bicycle motorcycle manufacturer Legnano.
Carpano was an Italian professional cycling team that existed from 1956 to 1966. The team's main sponsor between 1956 and 1964 was the Turin-based wine company Carpano, with Fausto Coppi's bicycle company Coppi a co-sponsor for the first two seasons. When Carpano took sole sponsorship of the team, the team adopted black and white striped jerseys similar to the shirts worn by Turin's Juventus Football Club. For the final two years, 1965 and 1966, Italian food producer Sanson took over the sponsorship. Whilst with Carpano, Franco Balmamion won the general classification of the Giro d'Italia in 1962 and 1963.
Jollj Ceramica was an Italian professional cycling team that existed from 1973 to 1977. Fausto Bertoglio won the general classification of the 1975 Giro d'Italia with team.
{{cite journal}}
: Cite journal requires |journal=
(help)Media related to Bianchi cycling team at Wikimedia Commons