About Squadra Coppi

History
The Squadra Coppi team was founded in 1994 and originally known as Unione Sportiva Coppi. We changed our name to Squadra Coppi in ~1997. 

The club is named after Italian bike racer Fausto Coppi - "il campionissimo" - the champion of champions. Fausto’s achievements include:

• Five time winner of the Giro d’Italia
• Two time winner of the Tour de France
• First rider to win both the Giro d’Italia and Tour de France in the same year
• Winner of the World Championships, Paris-Roubaix, Milan-San Remo (3), Giro di Lombardia (5), held the Hour Record

Noi non siamo digni!!! (Holy Cow!!!)

Focus of the Club
Squadra Coppi is focused on racing, rather than touring. All members are expected to participate in mass-start races. Winning and doing well are great, but not required to maintain your membership. We want members to participate in and support bike racing. Good race results are celebrated by all but our main goals are to have fun, be respected as a club, and avoid letting good results “go to our heads.”  

Training
Club rides are available almost every day. The schedule varies so check our Club Rides  page. Rides are open to anyone who shows up. An attempt is made to keep the group together but this is not always the case on harder and faster rides. If you are a newcomer and show up for a ride, please introduce yourself. Cycling can be dangerous, so we require all riders to wear a helmet on all rides – NO exceptions! 

Social Life
The best part of Squadra Coppi is the camaraderie, on and off the bike. We encourage each other to get stronger through training and foster a great esprit de corps. Many rides end with coffee at the Java Shack in Arlington. Team dinners are the second Monday of each month at Listrani's , Arlington. These gatherings allow club members to socialize, discuss team business, and are a great way to introduce new members to the club. 

Support of the Sport
Our efforts to promote cycling range from sponsoring races annually, supporting juniors and women’s teams, and organizing training camps and seminars. Some past seminars, which are open to the public, include cycling coaches Joe Friel and Chris Carmichael.

Contacts
If you’re curious about the team, come out and do one of our Club Rides with us sometime. If you’re new to the sport we can give you some great advice on good races for beginners. If you are interested in joining the team, check out our membership requirements and then email the Membrship Coordinator, the club president. We look forward to meeting you!