Renault () 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 1978 to 1985. The team cycled on and promoted

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.

History

The team was created in 1978 after the Renault auto group purchased the

bicycle manufacturer and became the main sponsor of the

Gitane–Campagnolo Gitane–Campagnolo was a French professional cycling team 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–Le ...

cycling team that 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 ...

and featured the promising young cyclist

Bernard Hinault Bernard Hinault (; born 14 November 1954) is a French former professional road bicycle racing, 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 ...

. From 1978 to 1980, the team was known as Renault–Gitane but, from 1981 to 1985, the team was Renault–Elf. Elf being an oil company that was owned by the Renault auto group. During this time the team with

dominated the sport from 1978 to 1983 with four wins in 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 ...

, two wins in the

Vuelta a España The Vuelta a España (; ) is an annual stage race, multi-stage bicycle racing, bicycle race primarily held in Spain, while also occasionally making passes through nearby countries. Inspired by the success of the Tour de France and the Giro d'Ital ...

and two wins in the

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 ...

. Hinault won several smaller stage races as well as one day races which included

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 ''Cycling monument, Monuments'' of the Eur ...

Paris–Roubaix Paris–Roubaix is a one-day professional bicycle road race in northern France, starting north of Paris and finishing in Roubaix, at the border with Belgium. It is one of cycling's oldest races, and is one of the 'Cycling monument, Monuments' ...

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 ...

, the Amstel Gold Race and the 1980 World Cycling Championships. Guimard signed several American riders which included future Tour de France winner

Greg LeMond Gregory James LeMond (born June 26, 1961) is an American former Road bicycle racing, road racing cyclist. He won the Tour de France thrice and the UCI Road World Championships – Men's road race, Road Race World Championship twice, becoming t ...

. LeMond made an immediate impression with his third-place finish behind Hinault in the 1981 Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré. Hinault left the team at the end of 1983 after Renault–Elf teammate

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 ...

took over the designated team leader after winning the 1983 Tour de France. Greg LeMond added to the team's laurels by winning the 1983

World Championship A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

. The following year Fignon finished high in the

, and then went on to become the 1984 French National Champion and winner of the 1984 Tour de France. The dominance of the team began to wane in 1985, with Fignon suffering from persistent knee injury and rising star

leaving the team for Hinault's La Vie Claire team. The highlight of the 1985 season was Marc Madiot's win in the cobbled classic

. After the 1985 season, the Renault auto group retired from sponsoring in the peloton and the French supermarket Système U became the main sponsor of Guimard's team. The team continued to ride on Gitane bicycle frames, who were co-sponsors for the team.

Major wins

;1978 :Overall Jersey yellow

::Stages 8, 15 & 20,

Overall

: Grand Prix des Nations,

;1979 :

La Flèche Wallonne La Flèche Wallonne (, French for "The Walloon Arrow") is a men's professional cycle road race held in April each year in Wallonia, Belgium. It is part of the UCI World Tour. The first of two Belgian Ardennes classics, La Flèche Wallonne is ...

:Overall

::Stages 2 (ITT), 3, 11 (ITT), 15 (ITT), 21 (ITT) 23 & 24,

::Stage 13, Pierre-Raymond Villemiane :

:Overall Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré : Grand Prix des Nations,

;1980 : Paris–Camembert, Pierre-Raymond Villemiane :

:Overall

::Stage 12, Yvon Bertin ::Stage 14,

::Stage 20, Jean-René Bernaudeau :Prologue & Stages 4 & 5 (ITT),

;1981 :

: Amstel Gold Race,

:Overall

::Prologue & Stages 7 (ITT), 16, 20 & 22 (ITT),

:Overall Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré,

;1982 :

Grand Prix d'Ouverture La Marseillaise Grand Prix Cycliste La Marseillaise, formerly known as the Grand Prix d'Ouverture La Marseillaise, is a single-day road bicycle race held annually in February around the city of Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in south ...

:Overall

::Stage 11, Bernard Becaas :Stages 12, 18 & 22 (ITT),

:Overall

::Prologue & Stages 14, 19 (ITT) & 21,

: Tour de l'Avenir,

: Grand Prix des Nations,

;1983 :

:Overall

::Stage 5, Dominique Gaigne ::Stage 9, Philippe Chevallier ::Stage 21 (ITT),

Overall

:Overall Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré,

;1984 :Stage 10

, Martial Gayant :Stage 20

:Overall

::Stage 2, Marc Madiot ::Stage 3a (TTT) ::Stages 6 (ITT), 15 (ITT), 17, 19 & 21 (ITT),

::Stage 7, Pascal Jules ::Stage 11, Pascal Poisson ::Stage 12, Pierre-Henri Menthéour : Tour de l'Avenir,

Charly Mottet Charly Mottet (born 16 December 1962 in Valence, Drôme) is a French former professional Bicycle, cyclist (1983 to 1994). He was one of the best French road cyclists of his era. Career Mottet won a total of 67 races, including the Tour de Roman ...

;1985 :

: Paris–Camembert, Martial Gayant : 1985 Paris–Roubaix, Marc Madiot : Grand Prix des Nations,

National and world champions

;1978 :

French National Road Race Championships,

French National Cyclo-cross Championships, Jean-Yves Plaisance ;1979 : MaillotFra

French National Road Race Championships, Roland Berland : MaillotFra

French National Cyclo-cross Championships, André Wilhelm ;1980 : Jersey rainbow

World Road Race Championship,

French National Road Race Championships, Pierre-Raymond Villemiane : MaillotFra

French National Cyclo-cross Championships, Alex Gerardin ;1982 : MaillotFra

French National Cyclo-cross Championships, Marc Madiot ;1983 : Jersey rainbow

World Road Race Championship,

French National Cyclo-cross Championships, Martial Gayant ;1984 : MaillotFra

French National Road Race Championships,

French National Cyclo-cross Championships, Yvon Madiot ;1985 : MaillotFra

French National Cyclo-cross Championships, Yvon Madiot

Notable riders

* Marc Madiot *

* Vincent Barteau * Éric Boyer *

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 ...

* Hubert Arbès

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Renault (cycling team) Defunct cycling teams based in France Cycling teams established in 1978 Cycling teams disestablished in 1985