MG-Maglificio
Encyclopedia
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
and Patrick Lefevere
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.
, Franco Ballerini
, Franco Chioccioli
, Dag-Erik Pedersen and the young sprinter Mario Cipollini
. 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
.
The team was immediately successful, with four Giro
stage wins by Mario Cipollini
, was also victorious in Gent–Wevelgem. Chioccioli won a stage in the Tour de France
and finished 3rd overall in the Giro
.
More Belgians arrived in 1993 with Wilfried Peeters
and Johan Museeuw
. Baldato won two Giro
stages, Polish rider Zenon Jaskuła a stage in the Tour de France
. Mario Cipollini was especially succsefull in the Flemish spring classics, winning E3 Prijs Vlaanderen
and Gent–Wevelgem, among other races. To top that off, Museeuw was victorious at the Ronde van Vlaanderen.
The team saw many new riders in 1994 as a lot of old Ariostea
riders joined the team, along with its manager, Giancarlo Ferretti
. Davice Cassani, Alberto Elli
, Rolf Jaermann, Pascal Richard
and Marco Saligari
now joined the ranks of GB-Maglificio-Bianchi. Danish rider Rolf Sørensen
and British time trial specialist Max Sciandri
also joinde the team. Cipollini and Chioccioli left the team however. GB-MG won a lot of one day races in this year, including the Amstel Gold Race
(Museeuw), but also the final classifications of the Swiss stage races Tour de Romandie
and Tour de Suisse
(Richard). Sørensen was the best at Paris–Brussels, among other races.
was signed by the team, now called MG Maglificio-Technogym. Head sponsor GB and manager Patrick Lefevere left the team, taking Johan Museeuw
with them to Mapei-GB. 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 a lot of major one day races in Italy. Baldato also won a Tour de France
stage.
In 1996, Michele Bartoli
joined the team from . He won the Ronde van Vlaanderen and Giro dell'Emillia, among many other races. Baldato was victorious again in the Tour de France
with a stage win, but also in the Vuelta a España
where he won two stages. Pascal Richard won a special race in Atlanta, where he became Olympic Champion
in the road race, where he won in front of former team mates Sorensen and Sciandri, who had left MG-Technogym earlier in 1996.
In 1997, MG signed then 22-year old Paolo Bettini
and Matteo Tosatto
, who made their professional debuts. Gilberto Simoni
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 succes year, Bartoli won Liège–Bastogne–Liège 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, 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
did win the Baby Giro of 1998, after which he scored an internship with Riso Scotti in September.
Roger De Vlaeminck
Roger De Vlaeminck 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"...
and Patrick Lefevere
Patrick Lefévère
Patrick Lefevere is the Belgian cycling team manager of the Quick Step-Innergetic cycling team. He is from Flanders, the Dutch-speaking region of the north. He was a professional racer from 1976 to 1979, winning Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne and the fourth stage in the Vuelta a España, both in 1978...
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.
GB-MG Maglificio
MG Maglificio was already a co-sponsor in the 1991 season of the Del Tongo team by Abetoni. This team had riders such as Fabio BaldatoFabio Baldato
Fabio Baldato 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.- Palmarès :* Österreich-Rundfahrt** 2 stages...
, Franco Ballerini
Franco Ballerini
Franco Ballerini 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 cycling team. In 1993 he was beaten on the line by Gilbert Duclos-Lassalle in an exciting Paris–Roubaix finale...
, Franco Chioccioli
Franco Chioccioli
Franco Chioccioli is a former Italian professional road racing cyclist. The highlight of his career was his overall win in the 1991 Giro d'Italia.- Palmarès :1983...
, Dag-Erik Pedersen and the young sprinter Mario Cipollini
Mario Cipollini
Mario Cipollini , often abbreviated to "Cipo", is a retired Italian professional road cyclist most noted for his sprinting ability, the longevity of his dominance and his colourful personality. His nicknames include Il Re Leone and Super Mario...
. 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
Davide Rebellin is an Italian road bicycle racer, currently riding for the Italian Miche-Guerciotti team. He served a 2-year suspension for testing positive for Mircera at the 2008 Olympic Games...
.
The team was immediately successful, with four Giro
1992 Giro d'Italia
The 1992 Giro d'Italia of cycling, the 75th edition of the race, was held from 24 May to 14 June 1992. It covered a total of 3,835 km, in 22 stages, completed at an average speed of 37.017 km/h...
stage wins by Mario Cipollini
Mario Cipollini
Mario Cipollini , often abbreviated to "Cipo", is a retired Italian professional road cyclist most noted for his sprinting ability, the longevity of his dominance and his colourful personality. His nicknames include Il Re Leone and Super Mario...
, was also victorious in Gent–Wevelgem. Chioccioli won a stage in the Tour de France
1992 Tour de France
The 1992 Tour de France was the 79th Tour de France, taking place July 4 to July 26, 1992. The total race distance was 21 stages over 3983 km, with riders averaging 39.504 km/h...
and finished 3rd overall in the Giro
1992 Giro d'Italia
The 1992 Giro d'Italia of cycling, the 75th edition of the race, was held from 24 May to 14 June 1992. It covered a total of 3,835 km, in 22 stages, completed at an average speed of 37.017 km/h...
.
More Belgians arrived in 1993 with Wilfried Peeters
Wilfried Peeters
Wilfried Peeters 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 Ronde van Vlaanderen and Paris–Roubaix.- Major victories...
and Johan Museeuw
Johan Museeuw
Johan Museeuw is a retired Belgian professional road bicycle racer. He was a professional from 1988 to 2004 and was particularly successful in the classic cycle races in the nineties....
. Baldato won two Giro
1993 Giro d'Italia
The 1993 Giro d'Italia of cycling, the 76th edition of the race, was held from 23 May to 13 June 1993, consisting of 22 stages. It covered a total of 3,703 km, completed at an average speed of 37.723 km/h...
stages, Polish rider Zenon Jaskuła a stage in the Tour de France
1993 Tour de France
The 1993 Tour de France was the 80th Tour de France, taking place July 3 to July 25, 1993. It consisted of 20 stages, over 3714.3 km, ridden at an average speed of 38.709 km/h....
. Mario Cipollini was especially succsefull in the Flemish spring classics, winning E3 Prijs Vlaanderen
E3 Prijs Vlaanderen
The E3 Harelbeke is an annual cycling race in the Flanders area of Belgium. The race starts and finishes in Harelbeke over 210 kilometres. The event is organised by the Hand in Hand Cycling Club of Harelbeke and is ranked 1.HC on the UCI Continental calendar....
and Gent–Wevelgem, among other races. To top that off, Museeuw was victorious at the Ronde van Vlaanderen.
The team saw many new riders in 1994 as a lot of old Ariostea
Ariostea
Ariostea was an Italian professional cycling team from 1984 to 1993. Its first team manager was Giorgio Vannucci, who was replaced in 1986 by Giancarlo Ferretti...
riders joined the team, along with its manager, Giancarlo Ferretti
Giancarlo Ferretti
Giancarlo Ferretti is the former manager of the now-disbanded Italian professional road bicycle racing team Fassa Bortolo team, sponsored by the Italian cement company of the same name....
. Davice Cassani, Alberto Elli
Alberto Elli
Alberto Elli is a former Italian road racing cyclist, who wore the yellow jersey for 4 days in the 2000 Tour de France...
, Rolf Jaermann, Pascal Richard
Pascal Richard
Pascal Richard 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.-Biography:...
and Marco Saligari
Marco Saligari
Marco Saligari is a directeur sportif and former Italian road bicycle racer who raced during the 1990s...
now joined the ranks of GB-Maglificio-Bianchi. Danish rider Rolf Sørensen
Rolf Sørensen
Rolf Sørensen is a former Danish professional road bicycle racer. He is the most successful Danish bicycle racer ever, with his 53 victories over 17 seasons. 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...
and British time trial specialist Max Sciandri
Max Sciandri
Maximilian Sciandri is a retired British road racing cyclist of Italian descent. He competed as an Italian national up to February 1995, then took British citizenship. He won the bronze medal in the men's individual road race at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia. He was a professional...
also joinde the team. Cipollini and Chioccioli left the team however. GB-MG won a lot of one day races in this year, including the Amstel Gold Race
Amstel Gold Race
The Amstel Gold Race is a road bicycle race held in the southern part of the province of Limburg, Netherlands. Since 1989 it has been among the races included in season long rankings tables, as part of the UCI Road World Cup , the UCI ProTour , UCI World Ranking and from 2011 the UCI World Tour...
(Museeuw), but also the final classifications of the Swiss stage races Tour de Romandie
Tour de Romandie
The Tour de Romandie is a stage race which is part of the UCI World Tour. It runs in the Romandie region, in the French-speaking part of Switzerland. It began in 1947, to coincide with the 50-year anniversary of Swiss Cycling....
and Tour de Suisse
Tour de Suisse
The Tour de Suisse is a UCI World Tour stage race held annually in June. The race debuted in 1933 and has evolved in timing, duration and sponsorship. With the Critérium du Dauphiné, it is a proving ground for the Tour de France, and part of the UCI World Ranking calendar...
(Richard). Sørensen was the best at Paris–Brussels, among other races.
MG Maglificio-Technogym
In 1995, former World Champion Gianni BugnoGianni Bugno
Gianni Bugno is a former 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 – San Remo classic in 1990...
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
Johan Museeuw is a retired Belgian professional road bicycle racer. He was a professional from 1988 to 2004 and was particularly successful in the classic cycle races in the nineties....
with them to Mapei-GB. 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 a lot of major one day races in Italy. Baldato also won a Tour de France
1995 Tour de France
The 1995 Tour de France was the 82nd Tour de France, taking place July 1 to July 23, 1995. It was Miguel Indurain's fifth and final victory in the Tour. On the fifteenth stage Italian rider Fabio Casartelli died after an accident on the Col de Portet d'Aspet....
stage.
In 1996, Michele Bartoli
Michele Bartoli
Michele Bartoli is a retired Italian road racing cyclist. He was a single-day race specialist, winning three of the five Monument races. Bartoli won the UCI Road World Cup in 1997 and 1998.-Biography:...
joined the team from . He won the Ronde van Vlaanderen and Giro dell'Emillia, among many other races. Baldato was victorious again in the Tour de France
1996 Tour de France
The 1996 Tour de France was the 83rd Tour de France, starting on June 29 and ending on July 21, featuring 19 regular stages, 2 individual time trials, a prologue and a rest day ....
with a stage win, but also in the Vuelta a España
1996 Vuelta a España
The 51st Vuelta a España , a long-distance bicycle stage race and one of the 3 grand tours, was held from September 6 to September 28, 1996. It consisted of 22 stages covering a total of 3,898 km, and was won by Alex Zülle of the ONCE cycling team.-External links:*...
where he won two stages. Pascal Richard won a special race in Atlanta, where he became Olympic Champion
Cycling at the 1996 Summer Olympics - Men's road race
These are the official results of the Men's Individual Road Race at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia, held on July 31, 1996. There were 184 participants in the race over 221.85 km, with 116 cyclists actually finishing....
in the road race, where he won in front of former team mates Sorensen and Sciandri, who had left MG-Technogym earlier in 1996.
In 1997, MG signed then 22-year old Paolo Bettini
Paolo Bettini
Paolo Bettini is an Italian former champion road racing cyclist, and the coach of the Italian national cycling team. Considered the best classics specialist of his generation, and probably one of the strongest of all times, he won gold medals in the 2004 Athens Olympics road race and in the 2006...
and Matteo Tosatto
Matteo Tosatto
Matteo Tosatto is an Italian road racing cyclist who rides for in the UCI ProTour.- Tour de France participations :*1997 - 132nd*2001 - 60th*2004 - 110th*2006 - 125th- Major achievements :...
, who made their professional debuts. Gilberto Simoni
Gilberto Simoni
Gilberto Simoni is an Italian ex-professional road bicycle racer, most recently for . Simoni is twice winner of the Giro d'Italia cycling race...
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 succes year, Bartoli won Liège–Bastogne–Liège and the Coupe du Monde and Alessandro Bertolini
Alessandro Bertolini
Alessandro Bertolini is an Italian professional road racing cyclist. He rides for the UCI Professional Continental cycling team . He is also known in Italy as "Alex" Bertolini.-Palmares:19961997...
won Paris-Brussel.
MG Maglificio remained a sponsor in cycling for one more year, co-financing the Riso Scotti team of Alberto Volpi, 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
Danilo Di Luca is an Italian professional road racing cyclist who rode for numerous UCI Professional Continental teams throughout his career including Liquigas-Bianchi and . He holds victories in the Giro di Lombardia in 2001, the 2005 UCI ProTour and won both the Giro d'Italia and the spring...
did win the Baby Giro of 1998, after which he scored an internship with Riso Scotti in September.