Skil (cycling team)

Skil-Sem was a French professional cycling team which competed during both the 1984 and 1985 seasons.[1][2] 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 Éric Caritoux, also won the Vuelta a España in 1984. The team was directed by Jean de Gribaldy.

Skil–Sem
Team information
UCI codeSKIL
RegisteredFrance
Founded1984 (1984)
Disbanded1986
Discipline(s)Road
StatusProfessional
Key personnel
General managerJean de Gribaldy
Team name history
1984
1985
Skil–Reydel–Sem–Mavic
Skil–Sem–Kas–Miko

History

In 1984, Skil, a manufacturer of small power tools, became main sponsor of the Sem-France Loire team, directed by Jean de Gribaldy. As a member of Sem-France Loire, Kelly had twice won Paris–Nice and had won the points classification in the Tour de France two times. Kelly also won the Giro di Lombardia for the team in 1983.

During the 1984 season the team was called Skil-Sem-Mavic-Reydel and was directed by de Gribaldy and Christian Rumeau. Kelly dominated racing that spring and won 33 times in total. He won, amongst others, Paris–Roubaix, Liège–Bastogne–Liège, Blois–Chaville, the GP Ouest-France and the Grand Prix de Fourmies. Also that Spring, Éric Caritoux won the Vuelta a España. Earlier in the season, he had won the stage to Mont Ventoux in Paris–Nice (and Kelly won the overall) but the team did not enter the Vuelta a España with high ambitions.[3] Caritoux won by six seconds.[4]

The following year, several of the smaller co-sponsors changed and the team was called Skil-Reydel-Sem. During 1985, Kelly won Paris–Nice, the Giro di Lombardia, finished fourth in the 1985 Tour de France and won the points classification. Gerrie Knetemann won the Amstel Gold Race and Jean-Claude Leclercq became French road race champion.[5] At the end of 1985, de Gribaldy found a new sponsor to replace Skil. Kas, a Spanish maker of soft drinks which had sponsored a team in the 1970s became the main sponsor.

The bikes used by the team had a Vitus 979 aluminium or a Vitus carbon fibre frame, both labelled "de Gribaldy", with Mavic components.

Notable riders

Major wins

References
  1. "Skil - Reydel - Sem - Mavic (1984)" (in French). Mémoire du cyclisme. Retrieved 18 February 2017.
  2. "Skil - Sem - Kas - Miko / Skil - Heuer en Suisse (1985)" (in French). Mémoire du cyclisme. Retrieved 18 February 2017.
  3. "Eric Caritoux en de Vuelta van 1984". Sportgeschiendenis.nl. Retrieved 2007-11-25.
  4. "1984 Skil-Sem-Mavic-Reydel". Retrieved 2007-11-17.
  5. "1985 Skil Reydel Sem". Jean de Gribaldy.com. Retrieved 2007-11-17.
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