The brand was synonymous with French bicycle racing from the 1960s through the mid-1980s, sponsoring riders such as Jacques Anquetil (1963–1965), Lucien Van Impe (1974–1976), Bernard Hinault (1975–1983), Laurent Fignon (1982–1988), and Greg LeMond (1981–1984).
Cycles Gitane have their roots in 1925, when Marcel Brunelière opened a smith and agricultural repair works at Machecoul in the Loire-Atlantique region of France.
The arrival of a new director-general at the head of Renault in 1985, Georges Besse, led the company to sell Micmo to raise capital.
Micmo continued and then in 1992 joined Peugeot and the Spanish company, BH, to form the Cycleurope group to compete with growing competition from Asia.
Riders on Gitanes included Lucien Van Impe, Bernard Hinault, Laurent Fignon and Greg LeMond, all winners of the Tour de France.