Giancarlo Ferretti wearing team Fassa Bortolo attire.

Giancarlo Ferretti (16 October 1959 – ) is the former manager of the now-disbanded Italian professional road bicycle racing team Fassa Bortolo team, sponsored by the Italian cement company of the same name. October 16 is the 289th day of the year (290th in Leap years). ... 1959 (MCMLIX) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Road bicycle racing is a popular bicycle racing sport held on the road (following the geography of the area), using racing bicycles. ... A cycling team is a group of cyclists who join a team or are acquired and train together to compete in bicycle races of any kind, whether they are recreational or professional. ... Rund um den Henninger Turm 2005 Fassa Bortolo is a professional road bicycle racing team founded in 2000 and lead by Giancarlo Ferretti. ...

Fassa Bortolo was a top-ranked team until the 2005 season, during which it was part of the UCI ProTour. Among its former riders, it counted classics specialist Michele Bartoli, super-sprinter Alessandro Petacchi, stage racer Ivan Basso, Juan Antonio Flecha, time trial specialist Fabian Cancellara, and many others. The 2005 ProTour was the first year of the newly-introduced UCI ProTour system, in which the ProTour teams are guaranteed, and obliged to, participate in the series of ProTour races. ... The UCI ProTour logo The UCI ProTour is a competition under the International Cycling Union (UCI). ... The Classic cycle races are the most prestigious one-day professional cycling road races in Europe. ... Categories: Possible copyright violations ... Italian sprinter Alessandro Petacchi beating Oscar Freire at a stage of the 2005 Tirreno-Adtriatico. ... Alessandro Petacchi is a professional road cyclist born on January 3, 1974 in La Spezia, Italy. ... This page is a candidate for speedy deletion. ... Ivan Basso (born November 26, 1977) is a professional road bicycle racer from Gallarate, Italy. ... Juan Antonio Flecha is an Argentine cyclist who was born in the town of Junin, in the province of Buenos Aires. ... In many racing sports an athlete (or occasionally a team of athletes) will compete in a time trial against the clock to secure the fastest time. ... Fabian Cancellara at the 2005 HEW Cyclassics Fabian Cancellara, born 18 March 1981, is a Swiss road bicycling racer. ...

Ferretti went on to find a new sponsor for the team, and believed that Sony Ericsson was interested in sponsoring his team. However, on October 14th 2005, a man claiming to represent proposed new sponsor Sony Ericsson turned out to be an imposter, leaving all staff and riders unemployed. Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications AB (Sony Ericsson) is a joint venture established in 2001 by the Japanese consumer electronics company Sony Corporation and the Swedish telecommunications company Ericsson, to make mobile phones. ...

His strong personality earned him the nickname the iron sergeant, and has been critized by former riders for being too demanding, strict, and commanding. Uniquely in cycling, when he was the manager of Fassa Bortolo he was made an employee of Fassa Bortolo the company, and earned some respect for it.