List of teams and cyclists in the 1976 Vuelta a España

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Whilst it might not have been the prettiest of kits, there is no denying that Mapei is symbolic of road racing in the 90’s. The list of riders who rode for Mapei is like a who’s who of cycling from that era. The team is often referred to as the best of all time, taking 653 victories between 1993 and 2002. Rock racing was founded by Rock and Republic founder Michael Ball in 2007. A number of riders with more than dubious reputations rode for the team. Their team kit didn’t please traditionalists, but the in your face ‘bad boy’ livery and regular tweaks to the design grabbed the fans attention and was possibly the only kit ever to appeal to fashionable teenagers. One of the longer running teams in pro cycling, Molteni ran from 1958 all the way through to 1976. None other than Eddy Merckx, who won pretty much all there is to win in the sport, rode for the team for 6 of his most successful years from 1971. The simplistic design of the jersey didn’t change much over the years, adding to its recognisability, and has recently become popular again with retro kit becoming de rigeur in the cycling community the world over. A team which ran in the 70’s and 80’s and specialized in classics racing with riders such as Roger de Vlaeminck, who won 4 Paris Roubaix. The jersey really stood out in the peloton, with it’s blue design with red and white stripes. Like Molteni, the Brooklyn Chewing Gum jersey is once again selling well in specialist outlets. The celeste blue of Bianchi bikes and kit is one of the most recognisable images of cycling. Bianchi themselves first became headline sponsor of a team in 1899, and made its last return in 2003, when Jan Ullrich rode for them at the Tour de France, in a very similar kit design to that worn by Fausto Coppi in the 40’s and 50’s. Z-Vetements headlined a team from 1987 to 1992. The blue, yellow and pink design almost looked like something out of a comic book, and in 1990, superhero Greg Lemond joined the team and went onto win his third Tour de France title that same year. Whilst this is another jersey which is coming back into fashion, one of our GCN team actually spotted Robert Millar out training in the original one less than a year ago. Another 80’s design, the La Vie Claire cycling team started in 1984, and it’s kit was originally designed by Benneton, and based on the artwork of Piet Mondrian. Another of Greg Lemond's former teams, the 1985 Tour became famous for the rivalry between he and then teammate Bernard Hinault. There wasn’t much that the TI Raleigh team DIDN’T win in their 10 years sponsoring a cycle team, with Joop Zoetemelks 1980 Tour de France win being the highlight. Whilst it was a dutch team, the main sponsors were British bike manufacturer Raleigh and it’s holding company Tube Investments. Team ONCE were widely regarded as THE stage race team of the 90’s, and their distinctive yellow jerseys were often seen dominating the front of the peloton, especially in week long races and the Vuelta a Espana, riding for the likes of Alex Zulle, Laurent Jalabert and Josebo Beloki. With ASO rules stating that team kit cannot be too similar to the Maillot Jaune in the Tour de France, ONCE used a different design each July, sometimes simply changing the yellow for pink. Without the Saeco coffee machine sponsorship and jersey design, we’d never have seen the ‘red train’ of the 90’s, which propelled Mario Cipollini to so many victories. Not only was the kit stylish, it was also one of the first teams to provide each rider with individually fitted jerseys. Cipollini often brought his flamboyant personality to the kit, donning a number of unique designs over the years, including a tiger skinsuit design at the Giro, and a Roman Conqueror special in the 1999 Tour de France.