Light brown in colour with the Molteni logo on the chest, the jersey of the team of the same name is one of the most iconic items of clothing in cycling history. It was popularised above all by Eddy Merckx. However, Molteni's legacy is characterised by other great names - including Rudi Altig, Gianni Motta and Ernesto Colnago.
History of Team Molteni
For Pietro Molteni and his son Ambrogio, life and work in the 1950s revolved around salami, pancetta and mortadella. Together, they ran a thriving sausage factory in Lombardy. However, Pietro Molteni thought bigger: their delicacies were to conquer the whole of Italy. His idea: the cycling team, founded in 1958, would take the company's message to the world, and not just on the occasion of the Giro d'Italia, which crosses all regions of the country. The Moltenis' highlight: the light brown team jersey, which was visually different from all the other teams' jerseys at the time.
The most significant success
It had been 17 years since the last Italian victory at Milan-San Remo before Michele Dancelli ended this dry spell with a 70-kilometre solo in 1970. On the final kilometres, an excited Pietro Molteni is even said to have offered him the entire sausage factory as a prize from the team car. Although Dancelli did not receive the company, the victory at Milan-San Remo was the greatest triumph of his career. To commemorate the victory, team mechanic Ernesto Colnago designed the "Asso di Fiori", the ace of clubs, which henceforth adorned Dancelli's bike. For many years and to this day, it has been the trademark of Colnago's world-famous racing bike brand.
The boss
The Italian Giorgio Albani drove for Molteni himself in 1959 before switching to the team car in 1961. With him, Molteni's successes gradually began to materialise. However, Albani was not a "loudspeaker" like many other sports directors of the time; he is described as level-headed and analytical, which earned him the nickname "the professor". In 1970, during a visit to Eddy Merckx's home in Brussels, he managed to convince him to switch to Molteni.
The most influential drivers
Gianni Motta
Ernesto Colnago personally vouched for Gianni Motta at Molteni in 1964. In his very first year, the young man from Cassano d'Adda won the Tour of Lombardy at the age of 21; in 1966 he beat the favourites Felice Gimondi and Jacques Anquetil in the Giro d'Italia. Motta seemed destined to become a great, but he was increasingly plagued by pain in his leg, having been hit by a car in 1965. He rode for Molteni until 1968 and it was not until 1970 that doctors diagnosed a blood clot in his left leg artery; however, he was never able to repeat his earlier performances.
Rudi Altig
Born in Mannheim, he experienced his two most successful years with the Italian team from 1966 onwards. Firstly, he played a decisive role in Gianni Motta's Giro victory. In the Tour de France that year, Altig was the captain, won three stages and wore the yellow jersey on nine days. However, he was not considered for the overall victory: Altig was always too heavy for the high mountains. Instead, he won another major race in 1966: At the World Championships at the Nürburgring, he defeated Jacques Anquetil in the final sprint. Altig left the team after the 1967 season.
Eddy Merckx
The Belgian changed the identity of the team from 1971 onwards. Merckx brought numerous Belgian assistants from his previous racing team Faema, as well as the sporting director Guillaume Driessens. Molteni also started racing under the Belgian flag instead of the Italian one. Success proved this change right: at Molteni, Merckx finally earned the name "cannibal" - together with his team-mates, he wore down the competition. There were no declarations of love, but there were plenty of victories: Merckx won 246 races in the Molteni jersey.
The controversy
In 1975, Eddy Merckx was on the verge of his sixth Tour victory. In the meantime, however, he was not only fighting against his cycling rivals, but also against parts of the French public. The resentment towards his dominance culminated in a liver punch from a spectator on the Puy de Dôme. The following day, Merckx lost the yellow jersey on the uphill finish to Pra-Loup and suffered fractures to his cheek and jaw in a crash a few stages later. He nevertheless finished second in Paris. Victory in the Tour of France finally went to a Frenchman again: Bernard Thévenet.
The end
Despite its many successes, Molteni ran into financial difficulties in the mid-1970s and withdrew as a cycling sponsor in 1976. Molteni was later charged with tax evasion and had to file for bankruptcy in 1987.
The trophy cabinet
- Giro d'Italia: 1966 (Gianni Motta), 1972, 1973, 1974 (Eddy Merckx)
- Tour de France: 1971, 1972, 1974 (Merckx)
- Vuelta a España: 1973 (Merckx)
- Tour of Lombardy: 1964 (Motta), 1971, 1972 (Merckx)
- Milan-San Remo: 1970 (Michele Dancelli), 1971, 1972, 1975, 1976 (Merckx)
- Liège-Bastogne-Liège: 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975 (Merckx), 1976 (Joseph Bruyère)
- Paris-Roubaix: 1973 (Merckx)
- Tour of Flanders: 1975 (Merckx)
