Movistar ends its Campagnolo era with SRAM AXS swap

Spanish registered World Tour team Movistar has swapped its groupset sponsor from Campagnolo to SRAM for the 2020 season.

Riders on both the men's and women's rosters will race aboard Canyon bikes, fitted out with SRAM eTap AXS components and Zipp wheels.

The break-up marks a major departure, with Campagnolo fitting out team bikes ever since Movistar's inception.

The SRAM eTap AXS system was unveiled in 2019, to roaring reviews: Cycling Weekly gave it a perfect 10/10 in both Red and Force options.

The defining feature of the 12-speed wireless system is that it offers what SRAM calls "modern gearing" - using smaller chainrings to offer a wider range of gearing options.

The largest chainring set up now on offer is a 50/37 - with the range moving to the cassette and a new 10-tooth sprocket picking up the slack.

All riders on the team will use the SRAM RED eTap AXS HRD system, representing the first time they've used exclusively disc brakes. The women's team will predominantly ride the 48/35 chainrings, while the men will favour the 50/37. Both teams will lean towards the 10-33 cassettes.

Movistar Team General Manager, Eusebio Unzué said: “After 37 years, we are switching to SRAM and Zipp, this is a historic change that we do not take lightly, but we see a great opportunity to partner with technology leaders in drivetrain and wheels."

The Movistar team has unveiled a full roster of 33 sponsors on its website - the highest number of partners in its history.

Among the collection are Zipp wheels - the team will use the entire Firecrest and NSW lineup - as well as Le Coq Sportif, replacing the previous clothing sponsor Endura.

The Scottish clothing brand, which has outfitted the team since 2014, chose to pull out of its relationship with the team due to what it called the “developmental dead end being enforced by the UCI."

A sore point included the outlawing of Endura's Surface Silicone Topography (SST), which used 3D silicone chevrons to reduce drag.

Movistar's sponsor Canyon remains unchanged - as has been the case since the German brand united with the team in 2014.

>>> Could this be the first glimpse of the new Canyon Aeroad?

Sneak peaks offered by a new Zwift advert suggest that riders may have a new Aeroad to test out in the 2020 season, though confirmation from Canyon's Koblenz HQ remains elusive.