Why is Campagnolo down to one World Tour team in 2023?

From dominance to barely there... Simon Smythe investigates

In 2023 the bikes from only one World Tour team will be fitted with Campagnolo components from Italy: the BMCs of French team Ag2r. And in the women's World Tour, Campagnolo does not figure at all. The BMCs might be beautiful bikes, but it's hard not to look at them and wonder if the iconic component brand is a spent force.

The number of Campagnolo-sponsored teams has been steadily dwindling over the last 10 years. It held steady at three in the men's World Tour between 2015 and 2020, then went up to four in 2021 with the addition of Ag2r to Cofidis, Lotto and UAE. Tadej Pogačar's wins on his Campagnolo Super Record EPS-equipped Colnago V3Rs in 2020 and 2021 were also a major cause for celebration for Campagnolo.

But 2022 saw Lotto move to Shimano and for the 2023 season both UAE and Cofidis will be on its Dura-Ace groupset.

For Campagnolo aficionados it's a sad state of affairs. Going back 20 years, Campagnolo supplied more teams in that year's Tour de France than Shimano, with 12 out of the total of 22.

And of course the legendary Italian brand has many more Tour wins in its palmarès than either Shimano or SRAM. At last count it was 43 to Campagnolo, 11 to Shimano (Lance Armstrong's seven wins having been stripped from its total) and two to SRAM (Alberto Contador's 2010 win isn't included, the one with the clenbuterol-contaminated steak).

So what's going on?

We asked Campagnolo. Has it become too expensive to sponsor a World Tour team in the current economic climate? Is it now impossible for a relatively small Italian company to compete with the financial might of Japan's Shimano and the ever-expanding US-brand SRAM?

"Our racing strategy, in general, is to invest our energy and commitment with a selected number of partners aligned with our values and vision," says Alessandro Pace, Campagnolo's product manager.