The 13v is about to reach the road with the new electronic group that Campagnolo is testing in competition

Nothing goes unnoticed in a race like the Giro d'Italia, especially not the latest prototype from Campagnolo that the Cofidis cyclists are using, with which the Vicenza firm makes the leap to 13 gears combining the qualities of its Ekar gravel group with the characteristics of its top-of-the-line Campagnolo Super Record Wireless.

Campagnolo has a prototype of Super Record 13-speed electronic in competition

Although 13-speed groups have already been used on the road by cyclists whose teams mount SRAM like Lidl-Trek, who used the specific gravel group from the brand in the last spring classics, the truth is that road groups remained anchored at 12-speed.

We speak in the past because that may be about to change after seeing the Cofidis team using a prototype of a 13-speed Campagnolo group at the Giro d'Italia. A group that, at first glance, could go unnoticed by most as it is aesthetically almost identical to the current Super Record Wireless, that is, a true excess of carbon fiber and composite materials.

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A new 13-speed group that is revealed, beyond the number of gears in the cassette which, obviously, until you count them it is difficult to discern the number of cogs at a glance; by a significant change in its levers. While when the Super Record Wireless was launched, many Campagnolo fans criticized that the Italian brand had dispensed with its characteristic thumb shifter to shift gears or chainrings, the levers that have been seen at the Giro d'Italia on the Cofidis bikes do have this peculiar button.

Although at first glance the derailleurs seem to be the same as the current Super Record Wireless, a closer look reveals that their design is new, a little more streamlined than their predecessors. On the other hand, the cassette that Cofidis is using, the most distinguishing element, has a gearing that starts from a 10-tooth cog and goes up to a 33, of course, specific to Campagnolo's N3W hubs.

What seems to have not changed are the cranks and brakes which, at least visually, are identical to those mounted on the Super Record Wireless.

In any case, the mere fact of being used in such an important competition as the Giro d'Italia demonstrates that if they are not a final version, they are likely a very similar pre-series that we will soon have on the market. The only question is whether it will have the prohibitive price of the current Super Record Wireless.