Team Bianchi was a makeshift team that was put together from the remnants of the Coast team in time for the

2003 Tour de France The 2003 Tour de France was a multiple stage bicycle race held from 5 to 27 July, and the 90th edition of the Tour de France. It has no overall winner—although American cyclist Lance Armstrong originally won the event, the United States Anti- ...

. Team Coast had been unable to pay the salaries of their riders and

Bianchi Bianchi may refer to: Places *Bianchi, Calabria, a ''comune'' in the Province of Cosenza, Italy Manufacturing *Bianchi Bicycles (F.I.V. Edoardo Bianchi S.p.A.), an Italian manufacturer of bicycles, and former manufacturer of motorcycles and a ...

took over the team and the role of title sponsor. Coast had recently signed

Jan Ullrich Jan Ullrich (; born 2 December 1973) is a German former professional road bicycle racer. Ullrich won gold and silver medals in the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. He won the 1999 Vuelta a España and the HEW Cyclassics in front of a home crow ...

following his departure from after his drunk driving and

amphetamine Amphetamine (contracted from alpha- methylphenethylamine) is a strong central nervous system (CNS) stimulant that is used in the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), narcolepsy, and obesity. It is also commonly used ...

use. During the 2003 tour while riding for Bianchi, Ullrich placed second to

Lance Armstrong Lance Edward Armstrong (''né'' Gunderson; born September 18, 1971) is an American former professional road bicycle racing, road racing cyclist. Regarded as a sports icon for winning the Tour de France seven consecutive times from 1999 Tour de ...

by just 61 seconds, his closest ever margin in any of Armstrong's seven victorious years. In the process, Ullrich also managed to upstage

Alexander Vinokourov Alexander Nikolayevich Vinokourov ( Kazakh and russian: Александр Николаевич Винокуров; born 16 September 1973) is a Kazakhstani former professional road bicycle racer and the current general manager of UCI WorldTeam ...

, Telekom's highest-placed rider, who finished third. Team Bianchi had planned to continue on as a professional

road racing Road racing is a form of motorsport racing held on a paved road surface. The races can be held either on a closed circuit or on a street circuit utilizing temporarily closed public roads. Originally, road races were held almost entirely on publ ...

team. However, Ullrich's return to his former team Telekom (later T-Mobile and ), as well as the departure of

Ángel Casero Ángel Luis Casero Moreno (born 27 September 1972 in Albalat dels Tarongers, Province of Valencia) is a retired Spanish road bicycle racer who raced professionally between 1994 and 2005. His first win was at the 1995 Clásica a los Puertos de ...

led to the demise of Team Bianchi as they now lacked the star power necessary to justify a top-tier team.

Major wins

2000

:Grand Prix Pino Cerami,

Jan Bratkowski Jan Bratkowski (born 25 July 1975) is a German former professional racing cyclist. He notably won the Raiffeisen Grand Prix in 2001 and the Grand Prix Pino Cerami in 2000. Major results ;1999 : 2nd Overall GP Kranj ::1st Stage 2 : 2nd Raiffeisen ...

:Stage 12 Tour de Langkawi,

2001

:Stage 4 Paris - Nice,

Alex Zuelle Alex is a given name. It can refer to a shortened version of Alexander, Alexandra, Alexis. People Multiple *Alex Brown (disambiguation), multiple people * Alex Gordon (disambiguation), multiple people *Alex Harris (disambiguation), multiple pe ...

2002

2003

:Profronde Stiphout,

:Rund um Köln,

:Stage 1b International Niedersachsen-Rundfahrt,

Thorsten Wilhelms Thorsten Wilhelms (born 31 July 1969 in Liebenau, Lower Saxony) is a German former cyclist. Palmares ;1993 :1st stages 1, 6 and 7 Tour of Sweden :1st stage 3 Niedersachsen-Rundfahrt ;1999 :1st stage 5 Commonwealth Bank Classic ;2000 :1st stage ...

:Stage 1 Bayern-Rundfahrt,

Thomas Liese Thomas Liese (born 10 August 1968 in Sangerhausen) is a former German professional cyclist. Major victories ;1989 :1st Olympia's Tour ;1990 :1st Niedersachsen-Rundfahrt ;1998 :1st Tour of Greece :1st Rund um die Hainleite ;2000 :1st Sachsen Tou ...

:Stage 1 Tour of Austria,

Steffen Radochla Steffen Radochla (born 19 October 1978, in Leipzig) is a German former road bicycle racing, road cyclist, who was professional from 2001 until 2013. He last rode for the team. Major results ;2000 : 1st Rund um Berlin : 1st Stage 1 Sachsen-Tour ...

:Stage 12 Tour de France,

Notable riders

References

{{reflist

Cycling teams established in 2000 Cycling teams disestablished in 2003 Cycling teams based in Germany Bianchi (company)