Système U () was a French professional

cycling team A cycling team is a group of cycle sport, cyclists who join a team or are acquired and train together to compete in bicycle racing, bicycle races whether amateur or professional – and the supporting personnel. Cycling teams are most important i ...

that existed from 1986 to 1988 and rode

Gitane Gitane is a French bicycle industry, French manufacturer of bicycles based in Machecoul, France; the name "Gitane" means Romani people, gypsy woman. The brand was synonymous with French bicycle racing from the 1960s through the mid-1980s, sponsori ...

racing bikes. In 1989 the team was renamed Super U–Raleigh–Fiat and rode

Raleigh Raleigh ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, second-most populous city in the state (after Charlotte, North Carolina, Charlotte) ...

bicycles. Super U was a chain of supermarkets owned by the Système U group.

History

A Système U team existed during the 1984 season (see Wolber–Spidel) with Marcel Boishardy as manager and was a continuation of the Wolber–Spidel team from the 1983 season. This team included riders such as Jean-René Bernaudeau and

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

n Martín Ramírez Ramírez. The sponsor Système U decided to take over the sponsorship of the highly successful Renault–Elf–Gitane team when

Renault Renault S.A., commonly referred to as Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English), is a French Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company curr ...

decided to retire from the peloton. Renault–Elf–Gitane which was directed by former French cycling champion

Cyrille Guimard Cyrille Guimard (born 20 January 1947) is a French former professional road racing cyclist who became a directeur sportif and television commentator. Three of his riders, Bernard Hinault, Laurent Fignon, and Lucien Van Impe, won the Tour de F ...

dominated the

Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage cycle sport, bicycle race held primarily in France. It is the oldest and most prestigious of the three Grand Tour (cycling), Grand Tours, which include the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a ...

between 1978 and 1984. The 1986 season started well with

Laurent Fignon Laurent Patrick Fignon (; 12 August 1960 – 31 August 2010) was a French professional road bicycle racer who won the Tour de France in 1983 and 1984, as well as the Giro d'Italia in 1989. He held the title of FICP World No. 1 in 1989. Fignon came ...

winning the spring semi-classic La Flèche Wallonne and

Thierry Marie Thierry Marie (born 25 June 1963) is a French former cyclist. Marie often performed well in prologue stages: he won the Tour de France prologue three times in his career, and because of that he wore the yellow jersey in those three years, for ...

winning the prologue of the 1986 Tour de France. Marie wore the yellow jersey as leader of the general classification for several days as the team also won the

Team time trial A team time trial (TTT) is a road bicycle race in which teams of cyclists race against the clock (see individual time trial for a more detailed description of ITT events). The winning team in a TTT is determined by the comparing the times of ...

of that year's Tour but the best for the general classification was the 10th place of French Champion Yvon Madiot. The following year, the team achieved success with Charly Mottet who won the Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré stage race and then wore the yellow jersey as leader of the general classification for several days in the 1987 Tour de France and finished fourth overall. The team won the team classification of that Tour. Mottet also won the

Individual time trial An individual time trial (ITT) is a road bicycle race in which cyclists race alone against the clock (in French: ''contre la montre'' – literally "against the watch", in Italian: ''tappa a cronometro'' "stopwatch stage"). There are also trac ...

classic at the end of the season, the Grand Prix des Nations. In 1988, Fignon showed good form to win the

Milan–San Remo Milan–Sanremo (in italian language, Italian ''Milano-Sanremo''), also called "''The Spring classic''" or "''La Classicissima''", is an annual road bicycle racing, road cycling race between Milan and Sanremo, in Northwest Italy. With a distance ...

Classic A classic is an outstanding example of a particular style; something of Masterpiece, lasting worth or with a timeless quality; of the first or Literary merit, highest quality, class, or rank – something that Exemplification, exemplifies its ...

as well as the stage race the Tour de l'Avenir while Mottet won the

Giro di Lombardia The Giro di Lombardia (), officially ''Il Lombardia'', is a cycling race in Lombardy, Italy. It is traditionally the last of the five 'Cycling monument, Monuments' of the season, considered to be one of the most prestigious one-day events in cycli ...

. In 1989, the team was renamed Super U after one of the supermarkets that the Système U cooperative owned and Gitane cycles stopped their long association with Guimard's team. Raleigh cycles took their place and became the second sponsor as well. The year marked Fignon's return to form with a second win in

, a win in the 1989 Giro d'Italia and the closest ever second place in the history of the

in the 1989 Tour de France. During this time

was the main directeur sportif with Bernard Quilfen and Jacques Cadicou being the other directeur sportifs. After Système U decided to withdraw sponsorship, Castorama a French retailer of DIY and home improvement supplies took over as main sponsor making the Castorama cycling team.

Notable riders

Riders who have won a Grand Tour, held the leader's jersey of a Grand Tour, won a stage of a Grand Tour, won a

classic A classic is an outstanding example of a particular style; something of Masterpiece, lasting worth or with a timeless quality; of the first or Literary merit, highest quality, class, or rank – something that Exemplification, exemplifies its ...

or won a

national championship A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or competition, contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the be ...

. Their wins may have been at any time in their careers, not necessarily during their time in the Système U team: *

* Charly Mottet * Éric Boyer * Yvon Madiot * Marc Madiot *

* Christophe Lavainne * Martial Gayant * Jacky Durand *

Bjarne Riis Bjarne Lykkegård Riis (; born 3 April 1964), nicknamed ''The Eagle from Herning'' (), is a Denmark, Danish former professional road bicycle racer who won the 1996 Tour de France. For many years he was the owner and later manager of the Oleg Tink ...

* Pascal Simon

Major wins

Giro d'Italia The Giro d'Italia (; ), also known simply as the Giro, is an annual stage race, multiple-stage bicycle racing, bicycle race primarily held in Italy, while also starting in, or passing through, other countries. The first race was organized in 19 ...

General classification 1989 * Cyclo Cross Championship 1986, 1987, 1988 * Road Race Championship 1986, 1987 *

1988, 1989 *

1988 * La Flèche Wallonne 1986 * Tour de l'Avenir 1988 *Paris–Bourges General classification 1986 * Grand Prix Eddy Merckx 1986 * Grand Prix des Nations 1987, 1988, 1989 * Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré General classification 1987 * GP Ouest-France 1986 * Paris–Camembert 1988 * Ronde van Nederland 1988, 1989 * Tour du Haut Var 1989

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Systeme U Defunct cycling teams based in France Cycling teams established in 1986 Cycling teams disestablished in 1989