For a significant portion of the race and performance community, a long-awaited event has taken place as Campagnolo makes a comeback in WorldTour racing. This is a momentous juncture that holds the potential to bring an end to the series of negative press surrounding Campagnolo. It is happening with the backing of Team Cofidis. (Photo: Campagnolo)

Bringing a Poetic Touch with Team Cofidis

The inclusion of Team Cofidis, a French team, adds a certain poetic quality to this story. After all, it was French team AG2R Citröen that was the last WorldTour team to use Campagnolo. The final nail in the coffin of WorldTour representation came at the end of 2023 when AG2R Citröen was rebranded as Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale. Among the details of this announcement was the news that the team would lose its signature brown shorts. This small change overshadowed other aspects, such as the team's switch from Campagnolo to Shimano.A Brief History of Campagnolo in WorldTour RacingWith that small announcement, a staple of WorldTour racing came to an end. As recounted by our own David Everett, "The first Tour de France won on Campag dates back to 1948" and "from 1963 through to 1998, Campagnolo-equipped riders stood atop the podium every year, bar four occasions" before being surpassed by Shimano in 1999.After that loss in 1999, Campagnolo gradually withdrew from the racing that defined the brand. It took 21 years before Tadej Pogačar with UAE-Team Emirates achieved another Tour win. Then in 2023, UAE-Team Emirates joined the growing number of teams that switched to Shimano.As the news of Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale broke, it seemed like the final blow. A brand that was once dominant in both the number of teams and wins at the WorldTour level was left without a sponsored team for the 2024 season. Headlines like "What's Going On with Campagnolo? No WorldTour Team for 2024" written by Everett spread across many magazine homepages, causing fans to worry.Now, with Team Cofidis from France, the conversation takes a full circle, and Campagnolo returns to WorldTour racing for at least the next four years. One thing that remains unchanged for Team Cofidis is its bike sponsorship. The French brand Look will continue to see Team Cofidis riders on the Look 795 Blade RS aero-optimized race bike and the Look 796 Monoblade RS TT bike. (Photo Campagnolo)Campagnolo Components on Look BikesThe Look 795 Blade RS has faced some criticism since its launch. Notably, Team Cofidis' general classification leader, Guillaume Martin, stated, "Our bikes weigh 7.7kg, 1kg more than the allowed limit. I don't want to make my bike even heavier with a 200-gram bike computer." However, Campagnolo may be in a position to change this perception.When we weighed the Look 795 Blade RS at Velo, a size medium frame and uncut fork weighed 940 grams. This puts it on par with other frames in a similar category. But the Corima wheels added a weight penalty. As of September 30 of this year, Look Cycle Group parted ways with Corima, and co-founder Pierre-Jean Martin took over.For the 2024 season, the Look 795 Blade RS under Team Cofidis will switch to the much lighter Bora Ultra WTO wheels. Riders will choose either 45mm or 60mm rim height depending on the race. The 45mm height has a claimed 215-gram weight advantage compared to the Corima WS Evo 47mm previously seen on Victor Lafay's stage 2-winning Tour de France bike. This advantage is expected to be even greater when paired with the Campagnolo sealed rim bed and the elimination of the need for rim tape.Campagnolo's contributions will also include the Super Record Wireless groupset, although the weight advantage is less clear on this front. We have not been able to verify the weights on our own scales, and the groupsets are only a few grams apart. Specific configurations could give an advantage to one or the other.In the end, Team Cofidis stands to gain from Campagnolo's return to WorldTour racing, but there is little at stake. As Campagnolo makes its comeback, there will be pressure. Any small mistake or errant rider quote will carry more weight, and any win will take on greater significance. Regardless, Campagnolo is back in WorldTour racing for 2025. (Photo Campagnolo)