Molteni was an Italian professional
road bicycle racingteam from 1958 until the end of 1976. It won 663 races, many of them earned by its most famous rider,
Eddy Merckx. Other riders included
Gianni Motta and
Marino Basso, who contributed 48 and 34 wins respectively.[1] The Molteni family continues in cycling with sponsorship of
Salmilano.
The sponsors Molteni were Italian salami manufacturers based in
Arcore, near Milan.[2]
History
The Molteni team began in 1958 with Renato Molteni as team manager.[3] It was started by Pietro Molteni. The team was also managed by his son,
Ambrogio Molteni, a former professional rider.[4] The former
Italian road champion,
Giorgio Albani, finished his career with Molteni in 1959 and came back two years later as
directeur sportif.[5] The team had success with
Gianni Motta in the
1966 Giro d'Italia and
Michele Dancelli in the classics. Merckx joined at the end of 1970, having twice won the
Tour de France and two editions of the
Giro d'Italia. Molteni became predominantly Belgian and took many of Merckx's teammates from
Faemino–Faema, including his
directeur sportif, Guillaume Driessens.[6] Albani replaced Driessens and directed the team with
Robert Lelangue from 1972 to 1976. Other directeurs sportifs included Marino Fontana. After 1976 Molteni retired from the peloton.