When I watched the presentation of the racing bikes of the Pro Tour cycling teams for the 2020 season, I got a little warm. To my great surprise, but not unexpectedly, I have to conclude that my favorite historical producer of bicycle groups, the Italian Campagnolo, is once again less visible on the bicycles of the professional cyclists.
Team EF Education First with Shimano
A trend that has been going on for several years now. It reminds me of the song by the Flemish charm singer Guido Belcanto in his song "On the tarpaulin of the bumper cars" in which he sings at one point
“Oh, but where have they gone now
The Heroes of the Bumper Car
Shamelessly expelled
Replaced by Madonna and Rambo”
In the same way Simplex, Suntour, Sugino and soon Campagnolo will be replaced by Shimano and Sram.
The advance of Shimano has been going on since the 1970s, but the American Sram is a young company that started in the mountain bike world but now focuses on the world of racing bikes and with success.
In the 1970s, Campagnolo was ubiquitous in professional cycling
From the 1950s to the 1990s, Campagnolo was the undisputed market leader and practically all racing bikes in professional cycling were equipped with a Campagnolo group. It was without a doubt the best material.
Movistar ends collaboration after 37 years
Now in 2020, Movistar has also exchanged Campagnolo for Shimano and only Lotto Soudal, Cofidis and UAE Team Emirates drive with the historic brand. So only 3 of the 19 Pro Tour teams. The collaboration with Movistar started in 1983 when the team was still called Reynolds.
Ridley bikes from Team Lotto Soudal equipped with Campagnolo
Dit bericht op Instagram bekijken
Pedro Delgado in de periode dat hij voor Team Reynolds reed
The reason for that choice in professional cycling is simple. Teams choose the best components, groups and that is no longer Campagnolo. Unfortunately.
Campagnolo will always remain popular with collectors (like myself) of vintage racing bikes, components and the like. The ideas of Tullio Campagnolo have resulted in many innovations such as the quick release, the first modern derailleur, ... The groups Campagnolo Record, Nuovo Record, Super Record, C-record are iconic groups and coveted by collectors (more about the history of Campagnolo).
The Super Record Cinquantenario groupset in a special box
Hopefully this decline is a signal for Campagnolo to put more energy into research and innovation and hopefully we will not only find their beautiful components and groups on vintage bike markets in the future.
