MG Maglificio was an Italian professional road cycling team in the 1990s. The team started racing in 1992, under the management of Belgians
Roger de Vlaeminck
Roger De Vlaeminck (; born 24 August 1947) 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 bo ...
and
Patrick Lefevere
Patrick Lefevere (born 6 January 1955) is a Belgian former professional cyclist, who currently serves as the general manager of UCI WorldTeam . According to the ranking site ''Cycling Ranking'' he is the most successful cycling manager in histo ...
and Italians Enrico Paoloni and Paolo Abetoni. After a one-year co-sponsorship with
Riso Scotti in 1998, MG Maglificio withdrew from cycling as a sponsor.
History
GB-MG Maglificio
MG Maglificio was already a co-sponsor in the 1991 season of the
Del Tongo
Del Tongo () was an Italian professional cycling team that was active between 1982 and 1991. The team disbanded, but provided the basis for Lampre.
History
The team was led primarily by two Italian sports directors: Pietro Algeri and Paolo A ...
team by Abetoni. This team had riders such as
Fabio Baldato
Fabio Baldato (born 13 June 1968) is an Italian former racing cyclist. In 2008, he was the oldest rider in a ProTour team. His cycling career ended when he crashed heavily in the Eneco Tour. He also competed at the 1988 Summer Olympics and the 19 ...
,
Franco Ballerini
Franco Ballerini (11 December 1964 – 7 February 2010) was an Italian road racing cyclist.
Born in Florence, his greatest exploits as a rider came with his two victories in the cycling classic Paris–Roubaix, riding for the Mapei cyclin ...
,
Franco Chioccioli
Franco Chioccioli (born 25 August 1959 in Castelfranco di Sopra) is an Italian former professional road racing cyclist. The highlight of his career was his overall win in the 1991 Giro d'Italia.
Major results
;1977
: 1st Overall Giro dell ...
,
Dag-Erik Pedersen and the young sprinter
Mario Cipollini
Mario Cipollini (; born 22 March 1967), often abbreviated to "Cipo", is a retired Italian professional road cyclist most noted for his sprinting ability, the longevity of his dominance (his first pro win came in 1988, his last in 2005; 170 p ...
. In 1992, under the guidance of Flemish team management, and with GB and Bianchi as co-sponsors, the team was expanded and included such Belgian talents as
Carlo Bomans and
Andrej Tchmil, as well as neo-prof
Davide Rebellin
Davide Rebellin (9 August 1971 – 30 November 2022) was an Italian professional road bicycle racer, who last rode for UCI Continental team . He was considered one of the finest classics specialists of his generation with more than fifty top t ...
.
The team was immediately successful, with four
Giro stage wins by
Mario Cipollini
Mario Cipollini (; born 22 March 1967), often abbreviated to "Cipo", is a retired Italian professional road cyclist most noted for his sprinting ability, the longevity of his dominance (his first pro win came in 1988, his last in 2005; 170 p ...
, who was also victorious in
Gent–Wevelgem
Gent–Wevelgem, officially Gent–Wevelgem – In Flanders Fields, is a road cycling race in Belgium, held annually since 1934. It is one of the classic races part of the Flemish Cycling Week, run in late March on the last Sunday before the To ...
. Chioccioli won a stage in the
Tour de France
The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in France, while also occasionally passing through nearby countries. Like the other Grand Tours (the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España), it consists ...
and finished third overall in the
Giro.
![Zénon JASKULA](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5f/Z%C3%A9non_JASKULA.jpg)
More Belgians arrived in 1993 with
Wilfried Peeters
Wilfried Peeters (born 10 July 1964 in Mol) is a former Belgian professional road bicycle racer. Nowadays, he is sportif director of the Quick Step team. During his cycling-career, he was a major help for Johan Museeuw in classics such as the ...
and
Johan Museeuw
Johan Museeuw (born 13 October 1965) is a retired Belgian professional road racing cyclist who was a professional from 1988 until 2004. Nicknamed ''The Lion of Flanders'', he was particularly successful in the cobbled classics of Flanders and ...
. Baldato won two
Giro stages. Polish rider
Zenon Jaskuła
Zenon Jaskuła (born 4 June 1962) is a Polish former professional racing cyclist from Śrem, who was active in the 1990s. He won stage 16 and finished third overall in the 1993 Tour de France. He competed in the team time trial at the 1988 Su ...
won a stage 16 and finished 3rd overall in the
Tour de France
The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in France, while also occasionally passing through nearby countries. Like the other Grand Tours (the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España), it consists ...
. Mario Cipollini was especially successful in the Flemish spring classics, winning
E3 Prijs Vlaanderen
E3 Saxo Bank Classic, previously known as E3 BinckBank Classic, E3 Harelbeke, Harelbeke–Antwerp–Harelbeke and E3-Prijs Vlaanderen, is an annual road cycling race in Flanders, Belgium. The race starts and finishes in Harelbeke, covering 203 ki ...
and
Gent–Wevelgem
Gent–Wevelgem, officially Gent–Wevelgem – In Flanders Fields, is a road cycling race in Belgium, held annually since 1934. It is one of the classic races part of the Flemish Cycling Week, run in late March on the last Sunday before the To ...
, among other races. To top that off, Museeuw was victorious at the
Tour of Flanders
The Tour of Flanders ( nl, Ronde van Vlaanderen), also known as ''De Ronde'' (''"The Tour"''), is an annual road cycling race held in Belgium every spring. The most important cycling race in Flanders, it is part of the UCI World Tour and orga ...
.
The team saw many new riders in 1994 as many old
Ariostea riders joined the team, along with its manager,
Giancarlo Ferretti
Giancarlo Ferretti (born 16 October 1941 in Lugo) is the former manager of the now-disbanded Italian professional road bicycle racing team, Fassa Bortolo, sponsored by the Italian cement company of the same name.
Fassa Bortolo was a top-ranked ...
.
Davide Cassani
Davide Cassani (born 1 January 1961) is a former road cyclist and cycling commentator on Italian television from Italy. Now he works as manager for Italy national cycling team.
He was born in Faenza. In 1982 he made his professional debut with ...
,
Alberto Elli
Alberto Elli (born 9 March 1964) 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 th ...
,
Rolf Jaermann,
Pascal Richard
Pascal Richard (born 16 March 1964) is a French-speaking Swiss former racing cyclist. He is most notable as a former King of the Mountains winner at the Giro d'Italia and Olympic Games gold medalist. He won the Swiss National Road Race champio ...
and
Marco Saligari
Marco Saligari (born 18 May 1965 in Sesto San Giovanni) is a directeur sportif and former Italian road bicycle racer who raced during the 1990s. Since 2002, Saligari has served as manager of the Landbouwkrediet (formerly ''Colnago-Landbouwkredi ...
now joined the ranks of GB-Maglificio-Bianchi. Danish rider
Rolf Sørensen
Rolf Sørensen (born 20 April 1965) is a former Danish professional road bicycle racer. He is currently working as a cycling commentator and agent. Born in Helsinge in Denmark, Sørensen moved to Italy at the age of 17, where he has lived sin ...
and British time trial specialist
Max Sciandri also joined the team. Cipollini and Chioccioli left the team however. GB-MG won many one-day races in this year, including the
Amstel Gold Race
The Amstel Gold Race is an annual one-day classic road cycling race held in the province of Limburg, Netherlands. It traditionally marks the turning point of the spring classics, with the climbers and stage racers replacing the cobbled classic ...
(Museeuw), but also the final classifications of the Swiss stage races
Tour de Romandie
The Tour de Romandie is a stage race which is part of the UCI World Tour. It runs through the Romandie region, or French-speaking part of Switzerland. The competition began in 1947, to coincide with the 50-year anniversary of Swiss Cycling. It ...
and
Tour de Suisse
The Tour de Suisse ( en, Tour of Switzerland) is an annual road cycling stage race. Raced over eight days, the event covers two weekends in June, and along with the Critérium du Dauphiné, it is considered a proving ground for the Tour de France ...
(Richard). Sørensen was the best at
Paris–Brussels
The Brussels Cycling Classic (known until June 2013 as Paris–Brussels) is a semi classic European bicycle race, one of the oldest races on the international calendar.
History
Paris–Brussels was first run on 12 August 1893 as an amateur eve ...
, among other races.
MG Maglificio-Technogym
In 1995, former World Champion
Gianni Bugno
Gianni Bugno (; born 14 February 1964) is a retired Italian professional road racing cyclist.
Biography
Bugno was a versatile rider, able to do well in different types of races. He won numerous stages in the Tour de France, and the Milan ...
was signed by the team, now called MG Maglificio-Technogym. Head sponsor GB and manager Patrick Lefevere left the team, taking
Johan Museeuw
Johan Museeuw (born 13 October 1965) is a retired Belgian professional road racing cyclist who was a professional from 1988 until 2004. Nicknamed ''The Lion of Flanders'', he was particularly successful in the cobbled classics of Flanders and ...
with them to
Mapei-GB
Mapei was an Italian-based road bicycle racing team active from 1993 to 2002, named after sponsoring firm Mapei. From 2003 Mapei dropped their sponsorship, and a new team was built on top of the old with the name of Quick Step-Davitamon.
Mapei ...
. Peeters, Bomans and
Ludwig Willems joined them, removing the Belgian influence in MG Maglificio, which was now a team with many Italians, a few Swiss and one rider from Denmark and Great Britain each.
Like previous years, Italian specialists like Cassani and Richard won many major one-day races in Italy. Baldato also won a
Tour de France
The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in France, while also occasionally passing through nearby countries. Like the other Grand Tours (the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España), it consists ...
stage.
In 1996,
Michele Bartoli
Michele Bartoli (born 27 May 1970, in Pisa) is a retired Italian road racing cyclist. Bartoli was a professional from 1992 until 2004 and was one of the most successful single-day classics specialists of his generation, especially in the Italia ...
joined the team from
Mercatone Uno. He won the
Tour of Flanders
The Tour of Flanders ( nl, Ronde van Vlaanderen), also known as ''De Ronde'' (''"The Tour"''), is an annual road cycling race held in Belgium every spring. The most important cycling race in Flanders, it is part of the UCI World Tour and orga ...
and
Giro dell'Emillia, among many other races. Baldato was again victorious in the
Tour de France
The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in France, while also occasionally passing through nearby countries. Like the other Grand Tours (the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España), it consists ...
with a stage win, but also in the
Vuelta a España
The Vuelta a España (; en, Tour of Spain) is an annual multi-stage bicycle race primarily held in Spain, while also occasionally making passes through nearby countries. Inspired by the success of the Tour de France and the Giro d'Italia, the ...
where he won two stages. Pascal Richard won a special race in
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
, where he became
Olympic Champion
This article includes lists of all Olympic medalists since 1896, organized by each Olympic sport or discipline, and also by Olympiad.
Medalist with most medals by sport Summer Olympic sports
Winter Olympic sports
A. Including military patrol e ...
in the road race, where he won in front of former teammates Sorensen and Sciandri, who had left MG-Technogym earlier in 1996.
In 1997, MG signed then 22-year-old
Paolo Bettini
Paolo Bettini (born 1 April 1974 in Cecina, Livorno, Tuscany) is an Italian former champion road racing cyclist, and the former coach of the Italian national cycling team. Considered the best classics specialist of his generation, and probably ...
and
Matteo Tosatto, who made their professional debuts.
Gilberto Simoni
Gilberto Simoni (born 25 August 1971 in Palù di Giovo, Trentino) is an Italian former professional road bicycle racer, most recently for . Simoni is twice winner of the Giro d'Italia cycling race (2001 and 2003 editions). Simoni might have wo ...
and
Mauro-Antonio Santaromita were other new riders at the team in what would be its last under the MG-Technogym name. In this final success year, Bartoli won
Liège–Bastogne–Liège
Liège–Bastogne–Liège, also known as ''La Doyenne'' ("The Old Lady"), is a one-day classic cycling race in Belgium.Cycling Weekly, UK, 13 March 1993 First run in 1892, it is the oldest of the five '' Monuments'' of the European professional ...
and the
Coupe du Monde and
Alessandro Bertolini won
Paris-Brussel.
MG Maglificio remained a sponsor in cycling for one more year, co-financing the
Riso Scotti team of
Alberto Volpi
Alberto Volpi (born 9 December 1962) is an Italian former road bicycle racer. He competed in the individual road race event at the 1984 Summer Olympics.
He formerly worked as a directeur sportif
A ''directeur sportif'' (French for sporti ...
, with only a few riders from the old MG Maglificio team (among them Baldato). This team wasn't nearly as successful as the old Technogym team, although a young
Danilo Di Luca
Danilo Di Luca (born 2 January 1976) is a former Italy, Italian professional road racing cyclist, best known for winning the 2007 Giro d'Italia, but also for several positive doping tests, the last of which resulting in a lifetime ban from the sp ...
did win the
Baby Giro of 1998, after which he scored an internship with Riso Scotti in September.
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:MG Maglificio (cycling team)
Defunct cycling teams based in Italy
Cycling teams established in 1992
Cycling teams disestablished in 1997