You are listening to Kilometre Zero by the Cycling Podcast, powered by Super Sapiens.

Energy Management for Community That Leads and Coaches.

Over the years we've spoken a lot about some of the longest surviving teams and long

standing sponsorships in cycling, from Lotto and Belgium to Movistar in Spain who recently

celebrated 40 years in the sport. But another team celebrating 30 years in the sport this

year is Ig2R La Mondiale Citron, or Azuduzer La Mondiale Citroen.

They started in 1992 as Chisal. Chisal was a Sharkutri firm and the whole team was built

then and is now around one man, the man who runs it, Vansand Lavenou. Lavenou himself

was a modest professional rider who started his career very late and Chisal initially came

in to support him with individual sponsorship and then together in 1992 they launched a team.

That team became Pitti Casino and in the mid-90s they even launched a crowdfunding appeal

to keep going. Before in 1997, Ig2R came on board and the team became known as Casino,

Ig2R Prevoyance. In 2000 it became known simply as Ig2R in 2008 as Ig2R La Mondiale and finally

in 2021 as Ig2R Citroen.

We all know that Citroen make cars but Ig2R is a huge insurance company based in Paris,

not a particularly well known company says Francois and always with a reputation for being

discreet but efficient. But for whom the cycling sponsorship seems really to have worked,

otherwise they wouldn't have been around for so long. They've over the years had one

zero podium, three turdre France podiums, they've won four tours down under, one torreno

andriatical, two Dolphinés, one Paranise and one turdre Swiss. They haven't won a monument

but they have won the Amstel Goldrace, Fleschwellone and Paris Tour. In this episode of Cormac

to Zero we're looking at a team that appears to really be run as a family affair. We'll

...