Gitane–Campagnolo 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 1969 to 1977. Its main sponsor was the French bicycle manufacturer Gitane.

History

The Sonolor team was created for the 1969 season after the Pelforth–Sauvage–Lejeune team ended in 1968. In 1974, the Gitane–Frigécrème team of

directeur sportif A ''directeur sportif'' (French for sporting director, although the original French term is often used in English-language media; plural ''directeurs sportifs'') is a person directing a cycling team during a road bicycle racing event. It is s ...

Andre Desvrages was merged into the team creating Sonolor–Gitane. The team was called Gitane–Campagnolo from 1975–1977 and in 1975 signed 1971 French amateur champion

Bernard Hinault Bernard Hinault (; born 14 November 1954) is a French former professional road cyclist. With 147 professional victories, including five times the Tour de France, he is often named among the greatest cyclists of all time. In his career, Hinault ...

. During this time the team was directed by Stablinski, but

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 Fr ...

was becoming involved as well as Maurice Champion. Guimard took over as main

in 1976 and directed Van Impe to success in the

1976 Tour de France The 1976 Tour de France was the 63rd edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's Grand Tours. It took between 24 June and 18 July, with 22 stages covering a distance of . It was won by mountain specialist Lucien Van Impe in a battle with t ...

. Van Impe left at the end of 1976 and Hinault was designated captain for stage races. Even though Hinault won the Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré in 1977 in front of

Bernard Thévenet Bernard Thévenet (; born 10 January 1948) is a retired professional cyclist. His sporting career began with ACBB Paris. He is twice a winner of the Tour de France and known for ending the reign of five-times Tour champion Eddy Merckx, though bo ...

and

Lucien Van Impe Lucien Van Impe (; born 20 October 1946) is a Belgian cyclist, who competed professionally between 1969 and 1987. He excelled mainly as a climber in multiple-day races such as the Tour de France. He was the winner of the 1976 Tour de France, ...

, he did not start 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 consist ...

. After Renault auto group purchased Gitane, Renault became the main sponsor of the team making the Renault–Elf–Gitane team.

Major wins

General classification The general classification (or the GC) in road bicycle racing is the category that tracks overall times for riders in multi- stage races. Each stage will have a stage winner, but the overall winner in the GC is the rider who has the fastest cumula ...

1976 * Australian National Road Race Championships 1976 *

Belgian National Road Race Championships The Belgian National Road Race Championship is a cycling race which decides who will become Belgian national champion for the year to come. The record for most wins is currently held by one of the most successful Belgian sprinters, Tom Steels, w ...

1975 *French National Cyclo Cross Championships 1976 *

Dutch National Road Race Championships The Dutch National Road Race Championships take place annually, on the weekend prior to the start of the Tour de France. First held in 1888, today it is organized by the Top Sports Group A spinning top, or simply a top, is a toy with a squa ...

1973 *

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 ...

1977 *

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 Tou ...

1977 *

GP Ouest-France The Bretagne Classic, also called Bretagne Classic Ouest–France, is an elite cycling classic held annually in late summer around the Breton village of Plouay in western France. The race was originally named Grand–Prix de Plouay and, from ...

1973, 1974, 1976, 1977 * Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré

1977 * Circuit Cycliste de la Sarthe 1975 *

Paris–Camembert Paris–Camembert (also Paris–Camembert Trophée Lepetit or Paris–Camembert Lepetit) is a semi classic held annually in April. Since 2005, the race is organized as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour. The route of the race has varied over t ...

1975, 1976 *

Grand Prix de Denain Grand Prix de Denain is a professional cycle road race held in Denain, France. For 10 years from 2005 the race was organized as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour, before becoming a 1.HC The UCI 1.HC and UCI 2.HC are the second tier classifica ...

1974, 1977 *

Grand Prix de Fourmies The Grand Prix de Fourmies is a bicycle race held in the Fourmies commune of France. Since 2005 it has been organised as a 1.HC event on the UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing competitions which wer ...

1974 *

Critérium International The Critérium International was a two-day bicycle stage race held in France every spring from 1932 until 2016, typically the last weekend of March. It was formerly known as the Critérium National de la Route, first run in 1932. For many years ...

1977

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gitane-Campagnolo Defunct cycling teams based in France Cycling teams based in France 1969 establishments in France 1977 disestablishments in France Cycling teams established in 1969 Cycling teams disestablished in 1977