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 which cycled on and promoted Gitane racing bikes. In 1989 the team was renamed Super U–Raleigh–Fiat and rode Raleigh bicycles. Super U being a chain of supermarkets owned by the Système U group.

History

A Système U team existed during the 1984 season (see

Wolber–Spidel Wolber–Spidel was a French professional cycling team that existed from 1981 to 1984. It was a successor of the team of 1980. Notable victories include the 1982 Milan–San Remo with Marc Gomez and the 1984 Critérium du Dauphiné with Martín R ...

) with Marcel Boishardy as manager which was a continuation of the Wolber–Spidel team of the 1983 season. This team included riders such as Jean-René Bernaudeau and

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

n Martín Ramírez Ramírez. The sponsor Système U decided to take over the sponsorship of the highly successful

Renault–Elf–Gitane Renault () was a French professional cycling team that existed from 1978 to 1985. The team cycled on and promoted Gitane racing bikes. History The team was created in 1978 after the Renault auto group purchased the Gitane bicycle manufacturer ...

team when Renault decided to retire from the peloton. Renault–Elf–Gitane which was directed by former French cycling champion Cyrille Guimard had dominated the Tour de France between 1978 and 1984. The 1986 season started well with Laurent Fignon winning the spring semi-classic La Flèche Wallonne and Thierry Marie winning the prologue of the

1986 Tour de France The 1986 Tour de France was a cycling race held in France, from 4 July to 27 July. It was the 73rd running of the Tour de France. Greg LeMond of won the race, ahead of his teammate Bernard Hinault. It was the first ever victory for a rider outs ...

. 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 Charly Mottet (born 16 December 1962 in Valence, Drôme) is a French former professional cyclist (1983 to 1994). He was one of the best French road cyclists of his era. His daughter, Eva Mottet, was also a road racing cyclist. She competed as a ...

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 The 1987 Tour de France was the 74th edition of the Tour de France, taking place from 1 to 26 July. It consisted of 25 stages over . It was the closest three-way finish in the Tour until the 2007 Tour de France, among the closest overall races ...

and finished fourth overall. The team won the team classification of that Tour. Mottet also won the Individual time trial 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–San Remo (in Italian ''Milano-Sanremo''), also called "''The Spring classic''" or "''La Classicissima''", is an annual road cycling race between Milan and Sanremo, in Northwest Italy. With a distance of 298 km (~185.2 miles) it is t ...

Classic as well as the stage race the Tour de l'Avenir while Mottet won the Giro di Lombardia. 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 The 1989 Giro d'Italia was the 72nd edition of the race. It started off in Taormina on 21 May with a flat stage that ended in Catania. The race concluded in Florence with a individual time trial on 11 June. Twenty-two teams entered the race ...

and the closest ever second place in the history of the Tour de France in the

1989 Tour de France The 1989 Tour de France was the 76th edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's Grand Tours. The race consisted of 21 stages and a prologue, over . It started on 1 July 1989 in Luxembourg before taking an anti-clockwise route through France ...

. During this time Cyrille Guimard 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 or won a national championship. Their wins may have been at any time in their careers, not necessarily during their time in the Système U team: * Laurent Fignon *

* Éric Boyer * Yvon Madiot * Marc Madiot * Thierry Marie * Christophe Lavainne * Martial Gayant *

Jacky Durand Jacky Durand (born 10 February 1967 in Laval, Mayenne) is a French former professional road bicycle racer. Durand had an attacking style, winning the Tour of Flanders in 1992 after a breakaway, and three stages in the Tour de France. Durand tur ...

* Bjarne Riis * Pascal Simon

Major wins

* Giro d'Italia General classification 1989 * Cyclo Cross Championship 1986, 1987, 1988 * Road Race Championship 1986, 1987 *

1988, 1989 * Giro di Lombardia 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