For the first time, SRAM matches Shimano in sponsorships for World Tour teams

In recent years, SRAM's excellent work with its AXS groups and the introduction of UDH derailleur hangers, among other aspects, has allowed the American brand to gradually gain market share from the previously untouchable Shimano. This growth is reflected in the World Tour in the 2026 season, where 8 of the 18 teams in the top category have SRAM as their technical sponsor.

The group war between SRAM and Shimano also moves to the World Tour

Let's go back to the year 2018. At that time, practically all World Tour teams were using Shimano, with a few exceptions using Campagnolo. SRAM, which had made a strong entry when the Force was its top-of-the-line group back in 2011, had little relevance on the road despite the launch, a couple of years earlier, of its first wireless electronic group that promised a bright future.

However, at the beginning of 2019, SRAM launched its offensive. The Red AXS was introduced with a strong statement that marked the end of Shimano's dominance due to the use of its HG hubs. The brand bet on new developments and its 12-speed cassettes that started with a 10-tooth sprocket designed for its XDR hubs. This move was accompanied by a strong push into the OEM market, with various models from major brands available at the launch of the group.

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Additionally, in a show of broad-mindedness, SRAM equipped that group with enormous versatility, also designed for gravel thanks to the Orbit damper in its pulley box, allowing it to function seamlessly in a single chainring configuration.

This launch was also accompanied by sponsorship from the Movistar team and the then Trek-Segafredo, which, although they had some reservations about the developments initially conceived for them in that first year, ultimately proved that it was a fully competitive group.

Over the years, SRAM groups have reached more teams. The Visma-Lease a Bike, the Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe, and now, in 2026, the Decathlon-CMA CGM, EF Education-EasyPost, NSN, and Uno-X Mobility also use the SRAM Red AXS, matching the number of teams sponsored by Shimano.

And although 10 teams will use the Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 in 2026, after the Cofidis, the only team that maintained Campagnolo Super Record as their bike group, left the World Tour, the reality is that only 8 of those teams have official sponsorship from Shimano. These are: Alpecin-Premier Tech, Groupama-FDJ United, INEOS Grenadiers, Soudal-QuickStep, Jayco-AlUla, Picnic-PostNL, UAE Team Emirates-XRG, and XDS-Astana.

The other two, Bahrain-Victorious and Lotto-Intermarché, although they also use groups from the Japanese brand, are not officially sponsored by it, so the groups are either supplied through local agreements with some of Shimano's distributors or, as has happened in the past, are directly purchased on the market by the teams for the assembly of their bikes.

A paradigm shift that seemed unimaginable a few years ago and undoubtedly increases the competition between what are now the two dominant brands in the cycling market when it comes to equipping bicycles with drivetrains at a time when the legendary Campagnolo has lost its former prominence and, unable to compete, has opted to produce a luxury product that the most nostalgic can use to equip the most exclusive bikes from artisanal manufacturers.