Response to the Mapei as the best team ever article.

[Escarabajo]

They were definitely not the first big superteam. As a Spanish racing fan I could use the KAS team as an earlier example and I'm quite certain in the long history of the sport there many more before them.

Nobody is saying that "D" was something new, just that they took it to the next level.

 

[La Pandera]

Nobody is saying that "D" was something new, just that they took it to the next level.

The post that I quoted stated that they, Mapei, were "the first big superteam". That is what I was responding to.

 

[profff]

Moltini was a super team.

pistolero and escarabajo are right .
faema and then molteni 1968-73 are by far the best team ever :merckxs, van springel, vandenbosche, spruyt, swerts, bruyere, van schil,reybrouck, adorni, armani, wagtmans, vanspringel, demuynck....

and how can we forget:
Raleigh 1980 (Zoetemelk -Raas, Knetemann, Lubberding, Lammerts ), later becoming panasonic, winning more than 100 races every year when the calendar was very short
Ford Gitane with Anquetil, Altig, Aimar , Stablinski, in the earky 60ies
Renault ( Hinault-Fignon-Madiot-Mottet-Lemond)a real superteam
rick van looy's faema ,with gaul and bahamontes in 1958-63
Flandria ( Maertens-Pollentier-Demeyer)

escarabayo,you remember: Kas in the early 70 with galdos, fuentes, lopez carril, perurena..

cycling has a long history, which did not start with armstrong in 1993, before naming a team best ever you have to consider many contenders....
even in more recent years we have telekom, gewiss, mg, us postal-discovery, even banesto and mapei obviously..
but mapei never won the tour, the biggest race: imho, this is enough for not being considered the best ever

 

[OJ....]

I'll see this and raise with this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xyUUVs3d-wY

I was a huge Museeuw fan as a kid and classics hit me like million volts from the first time I saw that ****e on Eurosport back in 93 or 94. There's no way in million years any team can come close to -96 P-R and that one race alone is HUGE. What are the races and moments that people talk 20 years after the race? -96 P-R is one of them.

 

[issoisso]

I'll see this and raise with this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xyUUVs3d-wY

I was a huge Museeuw fan as a kid and classics hit me like million volts from the first time I saw that ****e on Eurosport back in 93 or 94. There's no way in million years any team can come close to -96 P-R and that one race alone is HUGE. What are the races and moments that people talk 20 years after the race? -96 P-R is one of them.

Two interesting tidbits about that race:

- Another Mapei, Ballerini, was by far the strongest man in the race and due to a lot of bad luck only finished 5th.
In fact, with no one working with him, he was single handedly bringing back Museeuw/Bortolami/Tafi, but he was ordered to stop because he was bringing Zanini with him, who might outsprint everyone at the finish.

- In the last lap, Tafi seems to be celebrating. He's not. He's yelling at Bortolami. Tafi had just become a father and wanted to take 2nd for his daughter but Bortolami told him to go take a hike. Tafi ended up crying in anger after they crossed the line.

 

[The Hitch]

I'll see this and raise with this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xyUUVs3d-wY

I was a huge Museeuw fan as a kid and classics hit me like million volts from the first time I saw that ****e on Eurosport back in 93 or 94. There's no way in million years any team can come close to -96 P-R and that one race alone is HUGE. What are the races and moments that people talk 20 years after the race? -96 P-R is one of them.

WTF Ligget commentating on this race? but its not one of the big 4 - Tour, Worlds, Cali, Colorado.

- In the last lap, Tafi seems to be celebrating. He's not. He's yelling at Bortolami. Tafi had just become a father and wanted to take 2nd for his daughter but Bortolami told him to go take a hike. Tafi ended up crying in anger after they crossed the line.

I dont understand this. What do you mean by he wanted to take 2nd?

 

[Libertine Seguros]

I dont understand this. What do you mean by he wanted to take 2nd?

Museeuw had already claimed the win, Tafi wanted to finish in front of Bortolami for the extra spot, kudos and permanent record I guess.

 

[The Hitch]

Museeuw had already claimed the win, Tafi wanted to finish in front of Bortolami for the extra spot, kudos and permanent record I guess.

Which race are we talking about? Flanders 2002?

Edit, Oh, i get it, PR 1996. I thought Isso was responding to the 2002 Flanders vid.

 

[Kvinto]

I dont understand this. What do you mean by he wanted to take 2nd?

because the first place was decided by the phone.

Interesting article btw

 

[Rominger]

Which race are we talking about? Flanders 2002?

Edit, Oh, i get it, PR 1996. I thought Isso was responding to the 2002 Flanders vid.

nope roubaix 1996, Tafi wanted second because he knew he did not have enough pull in the team to ask for first and he was seriously upset that he was not allowed it, he said at the time he would make sure he was on his own sometime in the future to avoid such a situation again.

Bortolami was ****ed because he thought he was just as much a legitimate challenger for the world cup overall as Museeuw and so he let his legs do the talking by heading off to Festina he next year... and straight into illness injury and clinic related stuff.

Museeuw was always going to be chosen since he was Squinzi's favorite rider

 

[El Pistolero]

nope roubaix 1996, Tafi wanted second because he knew he did not have enough pull in the team to ask for first and he was seriously upset that he was not allowed it, he said at the time he would make sure he was on his own sometime in the future to avoid such a situation again.

Bortolami was ****ed because he thought he was just as much a legitimate challenger for the world cup overall as Museeuw and so he let his legs do the talking by heading off to Festina he next year... and straight into illness injury and clinic related stuff.

Museeuw was always going to be chosen since he was Squinzi's favorite rider

Museeuw was probably also the fastest of the 3, so didn't matter all that much in the end.

 

[Rominger]

Museeuw was probably also the fastest of the 3, so didn't matter all that much in the end.

But the other two were ordered to wait for him when he punctured with 8k to go, if they had put their heads down he would never have got back on. He was very lucky that day, Ballo was waay stronger but punctured just when they went away otherwise he might well have been the one to win it.

 

[La Pandera]

But the other two were ordered to wait for him when he punctured with 8k to go, if they had put their heads down he would never have got back on. He was very lucky that day, Ballo was waay stronger but punctured just when they went away otherwise he might well have been the one to win it.

I wonder how they would have handled it if Ballerini hadn't punctured and entered the velodrome with the other 3. That would've proved interesting.

 

[El Pistolero]

But the other two were ordered to wait for him when he punctured with 8k to go, if they had put their heads down he would never have got back on. He was very lucky that day, Ballo was waay stronger but punctured just when they went away otherwise he might well have been the one to win it.

He was indeed very lucky then.

 

[hrotha]

All this talk about Mapei's 1996 PR and no one mentions Domo's 2001 PR?

 

[Kvinto]

All this talk about Mapei's 1996 PR and no one mentions Domo's 2001 PR?

Mapei did it three times overall (1996, 1998, 1999)

 

[Team Ferrari/Fuentes]

I wonder how they would have handled it if Ballerini hadn't punctured and entered the velodrome with the other 3. That would've proved interesting.

Had he come back he would have brought Zanini with him and Zanini would have beaten the 4 Mapeis in a sprint...

 

[the_kman]

i agreee with OP. TT/HTC was awesome.
Guess im too young to appreciate mapei