Toshiba (cycling team)
| Toshiba | |
| Team data | |
| nationality |
 France
|
| First season | 1984 |
| Last season | 1991 |
| discipline | Street |
| staff | |
| Team manager | Bernard Tapie (1984–1988) |
| Sportl. ladder | Paul Köchli (1984–1987) |
| Name story | |
| Years | Surname |
| 1984 1985-1986 1987 1988 1989 1990-1991 |
La Vie Claire-Terraillon La Vie Claire-Radar Toshiba-La Vie Claire Toshiba-Look Toshiba-Kärcher-Look Toshiba |
| shirt | |
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Toshiba was a French cycling team founded in 1984 under the name La Vie Claire and which lasted until 1991.
founding
The team was founded and financially supported in the 1984 season by the French entrepreneur Bernard Tapie and his diet food chain La Vie Claire . The sporting director was the Swiss Paul Köchli . The jersey design of the La Vie Claire drivers was based on the abstract geometric images of Piet Mondrian .
Tapie recruited French star Bernard Hinault for his team from competitor Renault-Gitane with sums unimaginable for cycling . In 1984 Hinault won a. a. the Lombardy Tour , but on the 1984 Tour he lagged behind Laurent Fignon . For the next season, Tapie strengthened his team again and signed Greg LeMond , third in the 1984 tour, also from the Renault racing team. Hinault won the Giro d'Italia for the third time before he achieved his fifth and final tour victory. The 1985 Tour de France was a triumphal procession for La Vie Claire, with Hinault and LeMond in the first two places overall. The American, who looked stronger and more aggressive in the Pyrenees, was held back by Sport Director Koechli as part of a team order in favor of Hinault. A year later, the finish was reversed: LeMond won the Tour de France 1986 after an exciting race ahead of Hinault, teammates Andrew Hampsten and Niki Rüttimann completed the triumph of La Vie Claire with fourth and seventh place.
Toshiba
In 1987 La Vie Claire was replaced as main sponsor by the Japanese electronics company Toshiba . However, the Toshiba team was unable to build on these successes from La Vie Claire : Hinault had ended his career at the end of 1986, LeMond was unable to work for a long time after a serious hunting accident and eventually switched to ADR-Agrigel . The successful organizational duo of La Vie Claire, the sporting director Paul Köchli and the multi-million dollar team boss Bernard Tapie , also left Toshiba after the 1987 and 1988 seasons.
Toshiba's most important success was Jean-François Bernard's third place in the 1987 Tour de France after winning the mountain time trial to Mont Ventoux . In 1991 Tony Rominger won the Paris – Nice stage race and Laurent Jalabert came second in the Cycling World Cup behind Maurizio Fondriest . After the 1991 season, Toshiba ended its involvement in cycling.