Saeco was the name of an Italian road bicycle racing team, sponsored by the company with the same name. They rode on Cannondale bicycles.

Saeco
Team information
RegisteredItaly
Founded1996 (1996)
DisbandedMerged 2005
Discipline(s)Road
BicyclesCannondale
Team name history
2003–2004
2002
2001
2000
1999
1998
1997
1996
Saeco
Saeco-Longoni Sport
Saeco
Saeco-Valli & Valli
Saeco-Cannondale
Saeco-Cannondale
Saeco-Estro
Saeco-Estro-AS Juvenes San Marino

The company did not prolong the sponsorship for 2005, and the team was merged with the Lampre team, forming Lampre–Caffita, sponsored by Caffita.

Team history

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In the 1990s the team was famous for Mario Cipollini's sprint train and his antics. One of their most memorable moments was Cipollini's 4 consecutive stage wins in the 1999 Tour de France. The image of Mario Cipollini approaching the TV camera right after a win to say, "Cannondale makes the best bikes!" propelled Cannondale's popularity among road racers.

The Saeco team is known for their pranks and antics. Cipollini's antics are legendary, including showing up to the stage start at the Tour de France dressed in a Julius Caesar-inspired toga complete with an olive wreath, riding on a carriage pulled by his teammates on bicycles. More recently, the entire Saeco team raced a stage of the 2003 Tour de France wearing a Legalize my Cannondale chaingang cycling kit to protest the UCI's lower bound on bike weight which means that their six13 prototype team bikes were underweight and required the installation of additional weight.

Major wins

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1996
  Italy Road Race Championships, Mario Cipollini
Coppa Colli Briantei Internazionale, Carlo Marino Bianchi
Volta a Portugal em Bicicleta, Massimiliano Lelli
Overall   Tirreno - Adriatico, Francesco Casagrande
Stage 4, Francesco Casagrande
Overall Vuelta Ciclista al Pais Vasco, Francesco Casagrande
Stage 2, Francesco Casagrande
Stage 5b, Francesco Casagrande
Stage 2 Volta a la Comunidad Valenciana, Mario Cipollini
Stage 5a Volta a la Comunidad Valenciana
Stage 3 Tour de Romandie, Mario Cipollini
Stage 5a Tour de Romandie, Mario Cipollini
Stage 6 Tour de Romandie, Mario Cipollini
Points Classification   Mario Cipollini
Stage 1, Silvio Martinello
Stage 4, Mario Cipollini
Stage 8, Mario Cipollini
Stage 11, Mario Cipollini
Stage 18, Mario Cipollini
Stage 2 Volta Ciclista a Catalunya, Mario Cipollini
Stage 5 Volta Ciclista a Catalunya, Mario Cipollini
Stage 2 Tour de France, Mario Cipollini
1997
Overall   Giro d'Italia, Ivan Gotti
Stage 1, Mario Cipollini
Stage 2, Mario Cipollini
Stage 4, Mario Cipollini
Stage 10, Mario Cipollini
Stage 14, Ivan Gotti
Stage 22, Mario Cipollini
Overall   Tirreno - Adriatico, Roberto Petito
Overall Giro di Romagna et Coppa Placci, Francesco Casagrande
Stage 1 Volta a la Comunidad Valenciana, Mario Cipollini
Stage 5a Volta a la Comunidad Valenciana, Gian Matteo Fagnini
Stage 2 Tour de Romandie, Mario Cipollini
Stage 3 Tour de Romandie, Mario Cipollini
Stage 5 Tour de Romandie, Mario Cipollini
Stage 1 Tour de France, Mario Cipollini
Stage 2 Tour de France, Mario Cipollini
1998
Overall   Giro del Trentino, Paolo Salvodelli
Stage 2, Paolo Salvodelli
GP Costa degli Etruschi Mario Cipollini
Stage 5 Giro d'Italia Mario Cipollini
Stage 7 Giro d'Italia Mario Cipollini
Stage 8 Giro d'Italia Mario Cipollini
Stage 10 Giro d'Italia Mario Cipollini
Stage 20 Giro d'Italia Gian Matteo Fagnini
Stage 22 Giro d'Italia Gian Matteo Fagnini
Stage 1a Volta Ciclista a Catalunya Mario Cipollini
Stage 2 Volta Ciclista a Catalunya Mario Cipollini
Stage 3 Volta Ciclista a Catalunya Mario Cipollini
Stage 4 Volta Ciclista a Catalunya Mario Cipollini
Stage 5 Tour de France Mario Cipollini
Stage 6 Tour de France Mario Cipollini
1999
  Switzerland Road Race Championships, Armin Meier
  Italy Road Race Championships, Salvatore Commesso
Peperbus Profspektakel Zwolle, Mario Cipollini
Trofeo Manacor Mario Cipollini
La Poly Normande, Laurent Dufaux
Overall   Giro del Trentino, Paolo Salvodelli
Stage 1, Paolo Salvodelli
Trofeo Laigueglia, Paolo Salvodelli
Trofeo Luis Puig, Mario Cipollini
Stage 3 Tirreno–Adriatico, Mario Cipollini
Stage 5 Tour de Romandie, Mario Cipollini
Stage 2 Giro d'Italia, Mario Cipollini
Stage 10 Giro d'Italia, Mario Cipollini
Stage 12 Giro d'Italia, Mario Cipollini
Stage 14 Giro d'Italia, Paolo Salvodelli
Stage 17 Giro d'Italia, Mario Cipollini
Stage 1 Volta a Catalunya, Mario Cipollini
Stage 2 Volta a Catalunya, Mario Cipollini
Stage 4 Tour de France, Mario Cipollini
Stage 5 Tour de France, Mario Cipollini
Stage 6 Tour de France, Mario Cipollini
Stage 7 Tour de France, Mario Cipollini
Stage 13 Tour de France, Salvatore Commesso
2000
Overall Tour de Romandie, Paolo Salvodelli
Prologue
Stage 3 Giro del Trentino, Paolo Salvodelli

Stage 18 Tour de France, Salvatore Commesso

2001
Criterium Bavikhoeve, Mario Cipollini
GP Costa degli Etruschi, Fabio Sacchi
Trofeo Laigueglia, Mirko Celestino
Points Classification, Volta a Portugal, Salvatore Commesso
Rund um die Hainleite, Christian Wegmann
Tour of Austria, Cadel Evans
Brixia Tour, Cadel Evans
Tre Valli Varesine, Mirko Celestino
Milano-Torino, Mirko Celestino
Stage 2 Tour Down Under, Fabio Sacchi
Stage 3 Tour Down Under, Alessio Galletti
Stage 1 Tirreno - Adriatico, Biagio Conte
Prologue Tour de Romandie, Paolo Salvodelli
Stage 2 Tour de Romandie, Paolo Salvodelli
Stage 5 Tour de Romandie, Mario Cipollini
Stage 1 Bayern-Rundfahrt, Jörg Ludewig
Giro d'Italia Azzurri d'Italia classification Mario Cipollini
Stage 6, Mario Cipollini
Stage 9, Mario Cipollini
Stage 19, Mario Cipollini
Stage 21, Mario Cipollini
Stage 2a Rothaus Regio-Tour International, Biagio Conte
Stage 5 Rothaus Regio-Tour International, Biagio Conte
2002
  Italy Road Race Championships, Salvatore Commesso
Giro d'Oro, Damiano Cunego
Giro del Medio Brenta, Damiano Cunego
Giro del Veneto, Danilo Di Luca
Trophy City 'Castelfidardo, Danilo Di Luca
GP Ind.Com.Art of Castelfidardo, Fabio Bags
Criterium d'Abruzzo, Salvatore Commesso
Stage 11, Giro d'Italia, Gilberto Simoni
Trophy Laigueglia, Danilo Di Luca
Overall Tour of Austria, Gerrit Glomser
Stage 4, Gerrit Glomser
Trofeo Matteotti, Salvatore Commesso
Overall Brixia Tour, Igor Astarloa
Stage 2a, Igor Astarloa
Stage 2b, Mirko Celestine
Stage 4 Volta a la Comunidad Valenciana, Danilo Di Luca
Stage 3 Tirreno - Adriatico, Danilo Di Luca
Stage 5 Tirreno - Adriatico, Danilo Di Luca
Stage 4 Bayern-Rundfahrt, Christian Wegmann
Stage 2 Vuelta a España, Danilo Di Luca
2003
World Road Championship, Igor Astarloa
Overall   Giro d'Italia, Gilberto Simoni
Points Classification  , Gilberto Simoni
Azzurri d'Italia classification, Gilberto Simoni
Stage 12, Gilberto Simoni
Stage 14, Gilberto Simoni
Stage19, Gilberto Simoni
Overall   Giro del Trentino, Gilberto Simoni
Stage 2, Gilberto Simoni
Giro dell'Appennino, Gilberto Simoni
  Overall, Tour of Qinghai Lake, Damiano Cunego
Stage 7
US Pro Championship, Stefano Zanini
Milano-Torino, Mirko Celestino
Coppa Placci, Danilo Di Luca
Trofeo Città´ di Castelfidardom, Alessio Galletti
Settimana Ciclistica Internazionale, Mirko Celestino
La Flèche Wallonne, Igor Astarloa
GP Industria & Artigianato- Larciano, Juan Manuel Fuentes
Overall Tour of Austria, Gerrit Glomser
Stage 2, Gerrit Glomser
Stage 3, Gerrit Glomser
GP Llodio, Juan Manuel Fuentes
Tre Valli Varesine, Danilo Di Luca
Giro di Romagna et Coppa Placci, Fabio Sacchi
Stage 2 Tour Down Under, Fabio Sacchi
Stage 4 Tour of Qatar, Ivan Quaranta
Stage 3 Volta a la Comunidad Valenciana, Igor Astarloa
Stage 6 Tirreno - Adriatico, Danilo Di Luca
Stage 4 Deutschland Tour, Ivan Quaranta
Stage 14 Tour de France, Gilberto Simoni
Stage 1 Brixia Tour, Ivan Quaranta
Stage 1 Rothaus Regio-Tour International, Nicola Gavazzi
2004
Overall   Giro d'Italia, Damiano Cunego
Stage 2, Damiano Cunego
Stage 3, Gilberto Simoni
Stage 7, Damiano Cunego
Stage 16, Damiano Cunego
Stage 18, Damiano Cunego
Giro di Lombardia
  Overall, Giro del Trentino, Damiano Cunego
Stage 1, Damiano Cunego
Stage 2, Damiano Cunego
Giro dell'Appennino, Damiano Cunego
Giro del Trentino, Damiano Cunego
GP Industria & Artigianato, Damiano Cunego
Gran Premio Nobili Rubinetterie, Damiano Cunego
Memorial Marco Pantani, Damiano Cunego
Giro del Veneto, Gilberto Simoni
Raiffeisen GP, Andreas Matzbacher
Cup Placci, Leonardo Bertagnolli
Trophy Etna, Leonardo Bertagnolli
GP Ind.Com.Art of Castelfidardo, Damiano Cunego
GP Industria & Crafts-Larciano, Damiano Cunego
Trofeo Matteotti, Danilo Di Luca
Overall Brixia Tour, Danilo Di Luca
Coppa Agostoni, Leonardo Bertagnolli
GP Nobili Rubinetterie, Damiano Cunego
Overall Tour of Lombardy, Damiano Cunego
Stage 1 Bayern-Rundfahrt, Antonio Bucciero
Stage 4 Tour of Austria, Gerrit Glomser

National and world champions

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1996
  Road Race Mario Cipollini
1999
  Road Race Salvatore Commesso
  Road Race Armin Meier
2002
  Road Race Salvatore Commesso
2003
  World Road Race Igor Astarloa
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