This year marked a significant change for Campagnolo: the first in the company’s history in which it was not on a single WorldTour bike. The iconic brand hadn’t just been a long-term fixture in professional road racing; it was born in professional racing way back when Tullio Campagnolo invented the quick release wheel skewer way back in 1927.
But, having supplied up to half the WorldTour peloton as recently as the mid-2000s, it has since lost key team after key team as it faced increasing competition from Shimano and SRAM, both of which solidified their dominance in the market through stronger original equipment (OE) partnerships. This culminated in a complete exit from the WorldTour for 2024, news which itself came soon after an arguably lacklustre new flagship groupset launch in the Super Record Wireless.
That is likely about to change.
Multiple independent sources with close connections to both Team Cofidis and Campagnolo confirmed to Escape Collective that the iconic component brand will return to the WorldTour in 2025 on the French team’s Look bikes.
Ok, with all due respect, Cofidis is no UAE Team Emirates (one of those key teams Campagnolo lost in recent years), but it’s a start, a foot in the door that was until now seemingly slammed shut.
News of Campagnolo’s return to the WorldTour should be significant for both the brand’s loyal fanbase and the wider cycling industry. For Campagnolo enthusiasts, it’s an indication the iconic Italian brand, known for its racing heritage, hasn’t given up on racing. Campagnolo and Cofidis did not respond to a request for comment on a 2025 partnership.
For the wider cycling industry, the return may indicate Campagnolo has no plans to fade into the shadow of Shimano and SRAM. The brand will be hoping its re-entry into the WorldTour could reinvigorate its brand image, one of high performance and innovation. With the big two’s current dominance, Campagnolo needs to now position itself not just as a legacy brand but re-establish itself as a cutting-edge competitor to its rivals.
Cofidis wasn’t a fully Shimano-sponsored team, as shown by its use of non-Shimano wheels and non-PRO components – typically an indicator that a team purchases its own groupsets. Fully Shimano-sponsored teams are usually required to use both Shimano and PRO equipment (with exceptions previously for Ineos Grenadiers and more recently for time trial stages where Shimano doesn’t offer specialist wheels). As such, we must caveat the news that Campagnolo is back with the reality that one of the smaller-budget teams in the World Tour may simply be replacing a groupset expense with a groupset sponsor on its balance sheet.
Nevertheless, there is more to that story also. Cofidis was previously supplied by Campagnolo as recently as 2022, so the team (and others who dropped Campag of late) would have known they’d likely be buying Shimano if they dropped Campagnolo. They also likely knew what was in the development pipeline over at Campagnolo’s Vicenza, Italy headquarters. The fact they made the switch to buying from another supplier could suggest a lack of faith in what was coming. As such, this new development could indicate the reverse: a vote of confidence in what they are now seeing.
What we know they are seeing is the new Super Record S Wireless groupset. Unveiled back in September, the groupset has one key difference that could win over WorldTour teams again: bigger chainrings. When Super Record Wireless was launched last year the chainring combinations were limited to just 50/34T, 48/32T and 45/29T: fine for the majority of us, not so fine for modern WorldTour racing.
Sure, teams could have used previous-generation Campagnolo 12-speed chainrings (a move which would have also required the use of previous-gen cranks due to a difference in the BCD between the two versions) with the new groupset, but the move to include these larger chainrings and a dedicated power meter indicates the brand is now delivering, and more importantly, listening to what these teams require. Whether Cofidis will use Super Record S or if Campagnolo will add the same chainring combinations to SR Wireless remains to be seen.
No doubt, Campagnolo has other new products in the pipeline. Recent patent leaks suggest the iconic thumb shifter could be the next Campag staple to make a comeback. We’ve even heard a suggestion the new thumb shifter is more than just a patent play and is already in testing.
Campagnolo also explained to Escape Collective last year that it’s happy to focus on fewer teams going forward, and Cofidis seems to be the first result of this new approach. This will require offering more than just product, but a tailored approach, providing teams with the equipment and using teams as R&D centres, taking long-term product feedback for continued innovation if Campagnolo is to regain any semblance of its position as an innovator in the racing space.
Is Campag’s return with Cofidis going to cause any sleepless nights at either Shimano or SRAM? Probably not. Arguably, the big two would be more worried if an L-Twoo or a Wheeltop entered that space.
Cofidis looks set to continue on Look bikes, another iconic brand that doesn’t quite have the same reach it once had. As a result, Campagnolo hasn’t exactly landed itself a huge original equipment (OE) deal with one of the big market players in securing this new WorldTour deal.
It’s no exaggeration to say Campagnolo has had an extremely limited presence in the OE market of late compared to Shimano and SRAM, both of whom equip practically every road bike you’ll see on the floors of most local bike shops. There are a variety of reasons as to why, most beyond the scope of this article, but it can be condensed into pricing, logistical complexity, and simple demand. All of this feeds a vicious cycle whereby the only outcome is reduced representation in the market and an accelerating drop in demand.
Nevertheless, when the partnership is confirmed, it will be only a good thing to see a longstanding name return and hopefully build on this starting point. If the company can – and perhaps one day Campagnolo do take back enough WorldTour share to disrupt the Shimanos and SRAMs of this world – it’ll be an indication the brand found a way to break through in the consumer market also. That, however, is something on which we are unfortunately not yet seeing any of the first shoots of growth.
That’s a lot of “ifs” though, and the question remains: Can Campagnolo truly recapture even a smidgen of its former dominance? All the indications are that it will face an uphill battle. But at least the first steps are seemingly imminent.
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