Kas (cycling team)

Cheese
Team data
nationality	Spain 1958–1978 Belgium 1979 France 1986 Spain 1987–1988
First season	1959
Last season	1988
discipline	Street
Name story
Years	Surname
1958–1960 1961 1962 1963–1975 1976–1979 1986–1987 1988	Kas-Boxing Kas-Royal Asport Kas Kas-Kaskol Kas-Campagnolo Kas Kas-Canal 10
shirt

Kas was the name of two professional cycling teams in the 1960s to 1980s. The teams were sponsored by a Spanish beverage manufacturer who promoted its lemonade brand Kas - now marketed by PepsiCo . The traditional shirt color was yellow with blue writing; later the reverse combination was also chosen.

history

1958-1979

The first Kas team was founded in 1958. This year the team won a stage of the Vuelta a España with Fausto Izan . In 1959, the team signed the Spanish champion from 1958, Federico Bahamontes , who had previously won the mountain classification of the Tour de France and the Vuelta a España twice. Bahamontes won the Tour de France , which was contested in national teams, in 1959 and left Kas in 1960. Nevertheless, the Antonio Karmay Mestre team won the mountain classification of the Vuelta a España in 1960 , 1961 and 1962 . In 1964 and 1965 , the team won the Vuelta a España mountain classification by Julio Jiménez .

Kas-Kaskol dominated the Vuelta a España in 1966 : Francisco Gabica was overall winner, Eusebio Velez Mendizabal was second, Carlos Echeverría third, Gregorio San Miguel was winner of the mountain classification and the team's riders won a total of 14 of the 18 stages. Kas won the team championship at the Vuelta in 1967 and 1968.

In 1971 the team signed the best Neoprofi of the Vuelta a España 1970 , José Manuel Fuente . Fuente won the Maglia Verde des Giro d'Italia in 1971 and the Vuelta a España in 1972 . His team mate Miguel Maria Lasa finished second. Four more Kas drivers made it into the top ten. The team won the mountain classification, the points classification , the combination classification and the team classification.

At the Giro d'Italia 1972 , Fuente temporarily took over the leader's Maglia Rosa , won the mountain classification again and finally came second behind Eddy Merckx .

In 1974 Fuente won the Vuelta again and the team won the team championship.

The following year Kas again won the mountain classification, points classification and team classification at the Vuelta a España . Until the final time trial, the team's drivers also led the overall standings. Then Agustín Tamames took the lead and relegated Kas drivers Domingo Perurena and Miguel María Lasa to their places.

Kas again won the Vuelta a España in 1976 with José Pesarrodona and the mountain classification with Andrés Oliva . The team won the team championships of the Vuelta a España in 1978 and 1979 . In 1979, the last year of the team, numerous Belgian riders joined the team together with sporting director Robert Lelangue . Lucien Van Impe , winner of the Tour de France 1976 , won a stage of the Tour de France 1979 for the team .

1985-1988

In 1985, Kas returned to cycling as a co-sponsor of the Skil-Sem team, managed by Jean de Gribaldy . The following year, Kas took over the name sponsorship of the team and the Kas jersey reappeared in the peloton . In order to meet the interests of the sponsor, the team drove more and more Spanish races.

With Sean Kelly , the team won the Vuelta a España in 1988 , the Basque Country Tour in 1986 and 1987, the Tour of Catalonia in 1986 and the Züri Metzgete in 1986 with Acácio da Silva .

After de Gribaldy died in a car accident in January 1987, the originally French team took on Spanish nationality. In 1988 the team owner also died and Kas stopped sponsoring.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Kas-Kaskol (Esp) . Memoire du cyclisme. Archived from the original on July 16, 2007. Retrieved January 5, 2008.
2. ^ Kas Boxing Club 1958 in the database of Radsportseiten.net
3. ^ KAS 1959 in the database of Radsportseiten.net
4. ^ Vuelta a España 21st edition. lavuelta.com, archived from the original on February 7, 2012 ; accessed on January 4, 2008 . 
5. ^ Vuelta a España 27th edition. lavuelta.com, archived from the original on February 7, 2012 ; accessed on January 4, 2008 . 
6. ^ Vuelta a España 29th edition. lavuelta.com, archived from the original on February 7, 2012 ; accessed on January 4, 2008 . 
7. ^ Vuelta a España 29th edition. lavuelta.com, archived from the original on February 7, 2012 ; accessed on January 4, 2008 . 
8. ^ Kas-Campagnolo 1979 in the Radsportseiten.net database
9. ↑ David Walsh: Kelly: A biography . Springfield Books, 1991, ISBN 978-1856880244 .
10. ^ Kas 1986 in the database of Radsportseiten.net
11. ↑ Viva la Vuelta . Sport and Publicity.co.uk. Retrieved January 14, 2008.