The sponsors Molteni were Italian salami manufacturers based in Arcore, near Milan.

[4] The former Italian road champion, Giorgio Albani, finished his career with Molteni in 1959 and came back two years later as directeur sportif.

[5] The team had success with Gianni Motta in the 1966 Giro d'Italia and Michele Dancelli in the classics.

Merckx joined at the end of 1970, having twice won the Tour de France and two editions of the Giro d'Italia.

Molteni became predominantly Belgian and took many of Merckx's teammates from Faemino–Faema, including his directeur sportif, Guillaume Driessens.