Vincent Lavenu
Encyclopedia
Vincent Lavenu is a French
former professional road bicycle racer and is currently the team manager of the UCI ProTour
cycling team.
of the Skil Sem
team about becoming a professional but it was not until the autumn of 1982 when Pierre Rivory and Michel Nedelec turned the elite amateur team Pelussin into a professional team that they contact Lavenu with the offer of becoming professional. Lavenu was 27 years of age when he became professional with the Union cycliste Saint Etienne Pelussin team in 1983. As a first year professional, he crashed in the Dauphiné Liberé
and spent 8 days in hospital after which he could only compete several races at the end of the season. The Saint Etienne Pelussin team did not obtain the necessary sponsorship and retired from the professional peloton at the end of 1983. Lavenu found himself without a commercial team for the following two seasons but was able to continue to compete in professional races by wearing the jersey of the cycling union of France, the Union Nationale des Cyclistes Professionnels. This was not a commercial team but a team organized by Marcel Tinazzi
that enabled professionals who lacked commercial contracts to continue racing professionally.
Lavenu raced track events such as the six day track events. In 1986 he joined the Miko-Carlos team that fellow professional Jean-Francois Chaurin was setting up. This team also contained Régis Clère, Laurent Biondi and Frank Pineau. When the team was not selected for the 1986 Tour de France
, the sponsors decided to pull from the sport. In 1987 Lavenu joined the R.M.O. team when Bernard Thevenet
was directeur sportif
. Lavenu won the first race of the season with his new team, the Ronde pyrénéenne. He joined the Fagor team of Stephen Roche
and directeur sportif
Patrick Valcke in 1988 and 1989. He won a stage in the Tour of Portugal, finished fifth in 1988 Bordeaux–Paris, seventh in the 1989 French national road race championships, seventh in the 1989 Route du Sud
. He rode the 1989 Tour de France
where he finished in 65th place.
In 1990 he became an individually sponsored professional which enabled him to race in both professional and amateur events. He won stage 3b of the 1990 Route du Sud
. In his final year as a professional he rode for a very small Swiss team Mosoca where he helped organize the partial sponsor of his team, Chazal, and this led the way for Lavenu to form a small professional team with this sponsor the following year.
introduced the UCI ProTour
in 2005, Ag2r Prévoyance
did not obtain a protour licence but were granted such a licence in 2006.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
former professional road bicycle racer and is currently the team manager of the UCI ProTour
UCI ProTour
The UCI ProTour was a series of road bicycle races in Europe, Australia and Canada organised by the UCI . Created by Hein Verbruggen, former president of the UCI, it comprises a number of 'ProTour' cycling teams, each of whom are required to compete in every round of the series...
cycling team.
Professional career
Lavenu had been competing as an amateur in France for the Parisian amateur team La-Motte-Servolex and had been in contact with Jean-Pierre Danguillaume of the COOP-Mercier team and Jean de GribaldyJean de Gribaldy
Jean de Gribaldy was a French road cyclist and directeur sportif.-Biography:Born in Besançon, former professional racing cyclist from 1945 to 1954, Jean de Gribaldy began a successful career as a directeur sportif in the mid-1960s .Called le Vicomte , he discovered Sean Kelly, Joaquim Agostinho...
of the Skil Sem
Skil-Sem (cycling team)
Skil-Sem was a French professional cycling team which competed during both the 1984 and 1985 seasons. It was the continuation of the Sem-France Loire team. Skil-Sem was the team with which the team's leader, Sean Kelly, dominated the sport in 1984. Another team member, the french rider Eric...
team about becoming a professional but it was not until the autumn of 1982 when Pierre Rivory and Michel Nedelec turned the elite amateur team Pelussin into a professional team that they contact Lavenu with the offer of becoming professional. Lavenu was 27 years of age when he became professional with the Union cycliste Saint Etienne Pelussin team in 1983. As a first year professional, he crashed in the Dauphiné Liberé
Dauphiné Libéré
The Critérium du Dauphiné is an annual cycling road race, run over eight stages in the Dauphiné region in France during the first half of June. The race was inaugurated by a local newspaper, the Dauphiné Libéré, which gave its name to the event...
and spent 8 days in hospital after which he could only compete several races at the end of the season. The Saint Etienne Pelussin team did not obtain the necessary sponsorship and retired from the professional peloton at the end of 1983. Lavenu found himself without a commercial team for the following two seasons but was able to continue to compete in professional races by wearing the jersey of the cycling union of France, the Union Nationale des Cyclistes Professionnels. This was not a commercial team but a team organized by Marcel Tinazzi
Marcel Tinazzi
Marcel Tinazzi is a former French professional road bicycle racer of Italian parents. He was the cousin of an Italian professional cyclist Giorgio Tinazzi. He was a professional cyclist from 1977 until 1986...
that enabled professionals who lacked commercial contracts to continue racing professionally.
Lavenu raced track events such as the six day track events. In 1986 he joined the Miko-Carlos team that fellow professional Jean-Francois Chaurin was setting up. This team also contained Régis Clère, Laurent Biondi and Frank Pineau. When the team was not selected for the 1986 Tour de France
1986 Tour de France
The 1986 Tour de France was the 73rd Tour de France, taking place July 4 to July 27, 1986. The total race distance was 4094 km, distributed over 23 stages and a prologue. It was won by Greg LeMond, the first American to win the Tour...
, the sponsors decided to pull from the sport. In 1987 Lavenu joined the R.M.O. team when Bernard Thevenet
Bernard Thévenet
Bernard Thévenet, born 10 January 1948, in Saint-Julien-de-Civry, Saône-et-Loire, is a retired French bicycle racer. He is a two-time winner of the Tour de France and known for ending the reign of five-time Tour champion Eddy Merckx...
was directeur sportif
Directeur sportif
A directeur sportif is a person directing a cycling team during a road bicycle racing event...
. Lavenu won the first race of the season with his new team, the Ronde pyrénéenne. He joined the Fagor team of Stephen Roche
Stephen Roche
Stephen Roche is a retired professional road racing cyclist. In a 13-year professional career, he peaked in 1987, becoming only the second cyclist to win the Triple Crown of victories in the Tour de France and the Giro d'Italia stage races, plus the World road race championship...
and directeur sportif
Directeur sportif
A directeur sportif is a person directing a cycling team during a road bicycle racing event...
Patrick Valcke in 1988 and 1989. He won a stage in the Tour of Portugal, finished fifth in 1988 Bordeaux–Paris, seventh in the 1989 French national road race championships, seventh in the 1989 Route du Sud
Route du Sud
The Route du Sud is a road bicycle race held annually in Southern France. It was first held in 1977 and since 2005 it has been organised as a 2.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour...
. He rode the 1989 Tour de France
1989 Tour de France
The 1989 Tour de France was the 76th Tour de France, a race of 21 stages and a prologue, over 3285 km in total. In the closest tour in history, Greg LeMond was behind by 50 seconds at the start of the final stage, a time trial into Paris. LeMond rode for an average speed of 54.55 km/h ,...
where he finished in 65th place.
In 1990 he became an individually sponsored professional which enabled him to race in both professional and amateur events. He won stage 3b of the 1990 Route du Sud
Route du Sud
The Route du Sud is a road bicycle race held annually in Southern France. It was first held in 1977 and since 2005 it has been organised as a 2.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour...
. In his final year as a professional he rode for a very small Swiss team Mosoca where he helped organize the partial sponsor of his team, Chazal, and this led the way for Lavenu to form a small professional team with this sponsor the following year.
Palmares
- Route du SudRoute du SudThe Route du Sud is a road bicycle race held annually in Southern France. It was first held in 1977 and since 2005 it has been organised as a 2.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour...
- 1 stage (1990) - Volta a PortugalVolta a PortugalThe Volta a Portugal em bicicleta is a long distance road bicycle race for professionals held in Portugal. The competition takes place annually during a two-week span.- History :...
- 1 stage (1988) - Bordeaux–Paris
- 5th (1988)
- 9th (1987)
- Ronde des Pyrénées-Méditerranée (1987) Track Championships - Madison (1984)
Career as Directeur Sportif and Team manager
In 1992 he started a professional cycling team with Chazal as the main sponsor from 1992 to 1995. In 1996 Petit Casino, a chain of coffee shops in supermarkets took over the sponsorship of the team. At this time the team was a second division team that relied on the public to sponsor the team. The team had the saying "Petit Casino- c’est votre equipe" – it’s your team which signified this involvement of the public. In 1997 Casino, the supermarket chain that contained the coffee shops called Petit Casino, took over the sponsorship of the team and the budget increased substantially. Lavenu’s team could compete in the big races such as the classics. The insurance company Ag2r Prevoyance took over as the main sponsor in 2000. When the UCIUnion Cycliste Internationale
Union Cycliste Internationale is the world governing body for sports cycling and oversees international competitive cycling events. The UCI is based in Aigle, Switzerland....
introduced the UCI ProTour
UCI ProTour
The UCI ProTour was a series of road bicycle races in Europe, Australia and Canada organised by the UCI . Created by Hein Verbruggen, former president of the UCI, it comprises a number of 'ProTour' cycling teams, each of whom are required to compete in every round of the series...
in 2005, Ag2r Prévoyance
AG2R Prévoyance
Ag2r-La Mondiale is a French cycling team with UCI ProTour team status. Its title sponsors are the Ag2r Group, which is a French-based interprofessional insurance and supplementary retirement fund group, and the La Mondiale Group, which is a French-based international group for supplementary...
did not obtain a protour licence but were granted such a licence in 2006.