# Saeco (cycling team)

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

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
### 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
### 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