Lampre–Merida

Lampre–Merida (UCI team code: LAM) is an Italian road bicycle racing team. It was known in 2005 as Lampre-Caffita, a fusion of the previous Lampre and Saeco Macchine per Caffè teams. Lampre is an Italian manufacturer of prefinished steel sheet materials. Merida is a Taiwanese bicycle manufacturer. The team is a member of the UCI ProTour, and has been since the tour was formed as the top category of road cycling in 2005. However Lampre was temporarily suspended from the ProTour in 2010, missing one ProTour event.

The team consists mostly of Italian riders, and has a strong presence in the grand tours, especially the Giro d'Italia. The general manager Giuseppe Saronni was himself a famous professional cyclist and winner of 2 editions of the Giro d'Italia.

History

Following the tradition at Saeco, the team is well known for its publicity stunts. In the 2005 Giro d'Italia the team engaged in a press campaign Battaile d'Italia featuring their co-captains Gilberto Simoni and Damiano Cunego. During a rest day of the Giro, the team elected to visit the Monza race track for a photo-op and some training sessions.