Team Bianchi
| UCI code | COA (2000-2003) TBI (2003) |
|---|---|
| Registered | Germany |
| Founded | 2000 |
| Disbanded | 2003 |
| Discipline | Road |
| Bicycles | Bianchi |
| 2000 2001 2002-2003 2003 |
Team Coast Team Coast-Buffalo Team Coast Team Bianchi |
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.
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 following his departure from Team Telekom after his drunk driving and amphetamine use. During the 2003 tour while riding for Bianchi, Ullrich placed second to Lance Armstrong 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, Telekom's highest-placed rider, who finished third.
Team Bianchi had planned to continue on as a professional road racing team. However, Ullrich's return to his former team Telekom (later T-Mobile and HTC–Highroad), as well as the departure of Ángel Casero led to the demise of Team Bianchi as they now lacked the star power necessary to justify a top tier team.
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