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 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, Australia, Sydney. He won the 1999 Vuelta a España and the HEW Cyclassics in fro ...

following his departure from after his drunk driving and

amphetamine Amphetamine (contracted from Alpha and beta carbon, alpha-methylphenethylamine, methylphenethylamine) is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant that is used in the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), narcolepsy, an ...

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. He achieved international fame for winning the Tour de France a record seven consecutive times fro ...

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: ; born 16 September 1973) is a Kazakhstani former professional road bicycle racer and the current general manager of UCI WorldTeam . He is of Russian origin. As a competitor, his achieveme ...

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

road racing Road racing is a North American term to describe motorsport racing held on a paved road surface. The races can be held on a race track, closed circuit—generally, a purpose-built racing facility—or on a street circuit that uses temporarily c ...

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 Gu ...

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 :Stage 12 Tour de Langkawi, Jan Bratkowski

2001

:Stage 4 Paris - Nice,

Alex Zülle Alex Zülle (born 5 July 1968) is a Switzerland, Swiss former professional road bicycle racer. During the 1990s he was one of the most successful cyclists in the world, winning the 1996 and 1997 Vuelta a España, taking second place in the 1995 ...

2002

2003

:Profronde Stiphout,

:Rund um Köln,

:Stage 1b International Niedersachsen-Rundfahrt, Thorsten Wilhelms :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 :Stage 12 Tour de France,

Notable riders

References

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