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STAGE 3: TEAM OF THE DAY: COFIDIS
June 24, 2008
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Cofidis
Registered Nation: France
Bicycles: Time
Components: Campagnolo
Key Riders: David Moncoutie, Sylvain Chavanel
Title Sponsors: Cofidis, Le Credit par Telephone is a French credit card company.
Cyrille Guimard, former director of Renault-Elf, System U and Castorma started Cofidis in 1996. Guimard had financial backing from Franvßois Migraine, CEO of Cofidis. From the beginning the team seemed to be cursed. They had hired Lance Armstrong as team leader only to have him diagnosed with cancer shortly afterwards. The team's failure to stand behind Armstrong as he battled cancer was a poor public relations at best. In 1998 Bobby Julich rode a strong Tour de France to give the team their only podium placing in a Grand Tour, finishing third. In 1998 the team also saw classic victories from Frank Vandenbroucke.
1999 was a rough year for Codifis as Julich, and Vandenbroucke left. 2000 saw the emergence of David Millar, who saved the teams season by winning the prologue of the Tour de France. Millar used his win to become Codifis team leader.
Codifis went into the 2004 season with two world road champions, Igor Astarloa (road), and David Millar (TT). Codifis had more problems when it was revealed that David Millar and other team riders had been using performance-enhancing drugs like EPO. The team withdrew itself from racing during the investigation. Astarloa switched teams and David Millar was fired. But Codifis had a solid comeback at the 2004 Tour de France in which Stuart O'Grady and David Moncoutie both won stages.
Moncoutie again won a stage in 2005, but there were few results for Cofidis that season. 2006 saw Stuart O'Grady, Matthew White, and Cedric Vasseur all leaving Cofidis, but the departures were balanced by the signing of French hope Sylvain Chavanel, and sprinter Jimmy Casper's stage win at the Tour de France.
Jimmy Casper left in 2007 and Sylvain Chavanel failed to deliver on his potential and during the 2007 Tour de France Cofidis rider Christian Moreni failed a doping test for testosterone during stage eleven. Cofidis withdrew from the Tour, but British rider Bradley Wiggins emerged that year and also left for Team High Road for the 2008 season. Sylvain Chavanel had a great spring season in 2008 and will seek TDF stage wins this July while Moncoutie will attempt to return to his old glory days.
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