Campagnolo out of the World Tour

Elefantino · #1 12-02-2023, 07:53 PM

With AG2R switching from BMC/Campy to Decathlon/Shimano, the Italian brand is no longer a World Tour groupset.

The oceans will soon rise from their beds, birds will fall from the skies, and the traditional cycling world will lose its collective mind.

Philster · #2 12-02-2023, 08:14 PM

The funny thing is that it’s only important to some people who profess to not care about the World Tour.

peanutgallery · #3 12-02-2023, 11:20 PM

It's been trending this way for a while

10 years ago it was like half the teams were on campy

tomato coupe · #4 12-03-2023, 12:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by peanutgallery

It's been trending this way for a while

10 years ago it was like half the teams were on campy

Nope, only 5 of 18 teams on Campy in 2013.

GreenJersey · #5 12-03-2023, 03:49 AM

How much visibility/marketing where they getting out of AG2R?

Nomadmax · #6 12-03-2023, 06:10 AM

I ride Campagnolo because it's what I raced with. The fact that no current world tour team uses it is largely irrelevant to me.

vespasianus · #7 12-03-2023, 06:55 AM

Does this mean the thumb buttons stays?

ldamelio · #8 12-03-2023, 07:14 AM

With the exception of EKAR, they're evolving into a quasi-luxury niche brand. Chorus is now the 'lowest' road groupset and the only current electronic group, SR, costs $5300.

For better or worse, I don't think being on the Pro Tour matters to them from a marketing perspective, especially since their last team was not grabbing headline wins.

mcteague · #9 12-03-2023, 07:14 AM

Funny, I recall all the Campy fans crowing about how many Grand Tours were won on their stuff as compared to Shimano. Now that the cleat is on the other foot the reaction is...meh, makes no difference.

For me, I just find it a bit sad. I've had Campagnolo stuff, then Shimano and back to Campy. I now have one bike on 12s Record rim brake group and one on SRAM Red AXS disk. I know "Campy sells everything they make"...but still, I wish they were a bit more competitive in their professed chosen arena... Pro Racing.

Found this on their website:
Campagnolo’s history and heritage come from professional cycling. Sponsoring professional teams is not only a promotional tool but the fundamental terrain for developing and testing products in the most extreme conditions

Tim

C40_guy · #10 12-03-2023, 07:37 AM

More importantly, how well will Campy be represented at the 2024 D2R2?

redir · #11 12-03-2023, 07:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mcteague

Funny, I recall all the Campy fans crowing about how many Grand Tours were won on their stuff as compared to Shimano. Now that the cleat is on the other foot the reaction is...meh, makes no difference.

For me, I just find it a bit sad. I've had Campagnolo stuff, then Shimano and back to Campy. I now have one bike on 12s Record rim brake group and one on SRAM Red AXS disk. I know "Campy sells everything they make"...but still, I wish they were a bit more competitive in their professed chosen arena... Pro Racing.

Found this on their website:
Campagnolo’s history and heritage come from professional cycling. Sponsoring professional teams is not only a promotional tool but the fundamental terrain for developing and testing products in the most extreme conditions

Tim

There's no doubt about it, this is bad for business.

Alan · #12 12-03-2023, 08:11 AM

I assume they will support a lot of Italian non Protour teams which is not so bad.

I read the Velonews article linked:
https://velo.outsideonline.com/road/...team-for-2024/

The article has a lot of gloom and doom for Campy but I suggest this is not a bad thing as Campy can focus on the Italian teams they wish and use their limited sponsorship resources better in their opinion.

No one knows Campy's inside business results but there is tons of speculation and I think most is wrong. I suspect Campy is more profitable then ever and moving out of entry level OEM groups is a good thing even though I bought a lot of them in the past. It requires the same effort to make a Chorus and up part vs Centaur and down.

I think they have made a lot of progress over the last few years and will continue to have a vibrant but limited market. I tried to find a list of the Italian teams they sponsor but I couldn't but I know there are several.

Alan

Veloo · #13 12-03-2023, 08:41 AM

I for one am sad to see their presence go from the peloton having been brought up on 1980's cycling.
It's not just a competition of riders to me but also of the componentry.

Makes me think of some rumour I heard about the year that David Millar crashed in the Tour prologue and raised hell about having to use crappy Dura Ace and demanded that someone get him reliable Campy for him to ride. No idea how true that was.

AngryScientist · #14 12-03-2023, 08:50 AM

Once the pro bikes went over to all disc, I pretty much lost interest in the equipment, as pretty much none of it is stuff I will ever use.

Still a shame not to have campag representation out on the world stage. I suspect that will sort itself out before too long.

prototoast · #15 12-03-2023, 09:52 AM

As an economist, I think more competition is good and I hope that we don't fall into a world where only two companies are making top tier groupsets. But also, I have no particular attachment to one of those companies being Campagnolo. If Campagnolo can't maintain their position on the world tour, hopefully someone like Sensah or Ltwoo steps up.