Team Coast
The Team Coast is a former German cycling team , that of the eponymous clothing company sponsored. It was founded in 1999 under the name Leonardo Coast and dissolved in 2003 for financial reasons. The successor formation Team Bianchi , supported by the team's bike supplier, FIV Edoardo Bianchi SpA , was also dissolved at the end of 2003.
Team Coast
Team Coast was founded in 1999 and in 2001 was promoted to the group of the world's best teams, then called Groupe Sportif I (GS I) . At that time, Alex Zülle and Fernando Escartín were signed on , both drivers who had already stood on the podium at the Tour de France , but whose careers were already drawing to a close. In the first year as a GS-I team, apart from a stage victory at the spring trip Paris – Nice through Zülle, there was not a single victory. In 2002, Ángel Casero, the 2001 Vuelta winner, joined the team. The sporting breakthrough came in that year. Already in late winter victories were won in a stage race in Dubai, Alex Zülle won the Tour de Suisse , Aitor Garmendia came second in the Germany Tour and the Tour of Catalonia and Ángel Casero was sixth in the Vuelta a España .
For the 2003 season, the winner was 1997 Tour de France , Jan Ullrich , committed, who after his doping ban , the Team Telekom left. Rudy Pevenage followed him as sporting director . Ullrich scored his first victory for Team Coast at Rund um Köln after a long solo trip.
However, the sponsor Coast had apparently taken on the signing of the 1997 Tour winner and had problems paying the professional cyclists' salaries. At the beginning of March, the team was therefore blocked by the UCI , the world cycling association . As a result, various drivers, including Alex Zülle, left the team. In May 2003, the UCI suspended the team again for lack of salaries. The operating company of the RSM team went bankrupt and the Coast team was dissolved.
Team Bianchi
The team structure of Team Coast was taken over from the bankruptcy estate by the former Dutch professional cyclist Jacques Hanegraaf through his company Cycle BV. 19 of the 22 coast riders and some of the other staff switched to this successor team. Rudy Pevenage remained the sporting director. The team was named after the previous bike outfitter and now main sponsor, Team Bianchi . The UCI granted the new team a license and the ASO invited the team to the 2003 Tour de France .
The Tour de France was successful for the team: Ullrich was able to win the first individual time trial and fought a gripping battle for the tour victory with the American Lance Armstrong . The team's attempt to find more sponsors on the basis of these successes and thus to ensure the continued existence of the team turned out to be difficult. After Ullrich announced his return to the T-Mobile team in October 2003, Hanegraaf stated that the team should continue to exist in 2004; however, the team was disbanded.
Successes (selection)
- Tour de Suisse 2002 + stage win by Alex Zülle
- Around Cologne 2003 by Jan Ullrich
- 2nd place Tour de France 2003 and 1 stage win by Jan Ullrich
- 6th place Vuelta a España 2002 by Ángel Casero
- 2nd place Germany Tour 2001 and 2002 by Aitor Garmendia
- 2nd place Tour of Catalonia 2002 by Aitor Garmendia
- a stage victory Paris – Nice 2001 by Alex Zülle
Known former drivers
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See also
Individual evidence
- ↑ stern.de of September 26, 2002 Tschüss Telekom - Jan Ullrich no longer wants ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ radsport-news.com of April 21, 2003: Ullrich triumphs in Germany's comeback
- ↑ radsport-news.com of March 6, 2003: World Federation blocks Ullrich-Team Coast
- ↑ radsport-news.com of March 30, 2003: Coast departures could be the beginning of the end
- ↑ radsport-news.com May 8, 2003: Team Coast again suspended by UCI
- ↑ cf. radsport-news.com from May 20, 2003: Coast insolvency administrator awaiting agreement
- ↑ radsport-news.com from May 20, 2003: Coast insolvency administrator waiting for an agreement
- ↑ radsport-news.com of May 30, 2003: Ullrich start secured - Coast and Bianchi agree
- ↑ radsport-news.com from May 23, 2003: Bianchi receives UCI license - Ullrich's way to the tour is free
- ↑ cf. radsport-news.com from September 19, 2003: Hope for Ullrich-Stall Bianchi
- ↑ radsport-news.com of October 5, 2003: Perfect! Ullrich to T-Mobile Team
- ↑ radsport-news.com of October 30, 2003: Ullrich is facing trouble with Bianchi
Web links
- Leonardo Coast 1999 in the database of Radsportseiten.net
- Team Coast 2000 in the database of Radsportseiten.net
- Team Coast 2001 in the Radsportseiten.net database
- Team Coast 2002 in the database of Radsportseiten.net
- Team Coast 2003 in the database of Radsportseiten.net
- Team Bianchi 2003 in the Radsportseiten.net database