The EF Education-EasyPost team abandons Shimano: SRAM continues to gain ground in the peloton

The movement had been circulating in the peloton for weeks, but it now seems official that EF Education-EasyPost will compete in 2026 with SRAM groups, thus closing a long chapter with Shimano. The decision makes the American team another of the major blocks in the WorldTour that align with the North American brand, in a context of increasing presence of SRAM among top-level teams.

Carapaz's Cannondale is already equipped with SRAM

The rumor accelerated in recent days when Richard Carapaz was seen training with his Cannondale SuperSix Evo Lab71 fully equipped with SRAM, a setup that contrasted with the team's usual configuration. The images confirmed what was already seen internally as a mere formality.

The hint was not new. During the resolution of the case in which SRAM challenged the UCI's development limitation tests, it came to light that EF Education-EasyPost and Uno-X were involved in the process as interested parties. The formation itself confirmed this weeks later, further fueling the suspicion of a supplier change.

Richard Carapaz shows the new 2026 EF Cannondale bike with SRAM

Plus look at those Assos shorts.

: La Casa de Richi and thanks for sending @CarlosSerr98550 pic.twitter.com/0IpHMd2JEQ

— Lukáš Ronald Lukács (@lucasaganronald) December 8, 2025

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With the arrival of EF, the list of teams that will race with SRAM in 2026 becomes even more notable. Lidl-Trek, Visma-Lease a Bike, Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe, Movistar Team, Q36.5 Pro Cycling, and Tudor Pro Cycling have already secured their continuity with the American brand. The trend reinforces SRAM's presence in the WorldTour, especially at a key moment of technological updates and with the development of new electronic platforms in full swing.

EF's bet represents a significant but natural strategic change considering that SRAM and the team are both American. It remains to be seen if this union also occurs with Cannondale, something that is not entirely common in competition.