All key specs from 2019's WorldTour teams plus who will ride discs exclusively this season
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We've spent the last two weeks hassling the mechanics of the WorldTour to bring you this breakdown of the equipment used by teams in 2019(Image credit: Jack Luke/Immediate Media)
As always, Shimano, SRAM and Campagnolo are the only three groupset brands used at a WorldTour level(Image credit: Jack Luke/Immediate Media)
5 teams will exclusively use disc brakes in 2019(Image credit: Jack Luke/Immediate Media)
Rim brakes are still dominant, but for how long?(Image credit: Jack Luke/Immediate Media)
Seven teams run Look pedals(Image credit: Jack Luke/Immediate Media)
12 teams use Shimano pedals(Image credit: Jack Luke/Immediate Media)
Look and Shimano are the only two pedal brands represented at a WorldTour level(Image credit: Jack Luke/Immediate Media)
Three other brands are represented with one team apiece(Image credit: Jack Luke/Immediate Media)
Specialized supplies tyres to Bora-Hansgrohe and Deceuninck - QuickStep(Image credit: Jack Luke/Immediate Media)
Vittoria comes in second with six(Image credit: Jack Luke/Immediate Media)
Continental supplies seven teams(Image credit: Jack Luke/Immediate Media)
Six different tyre brands are used at WorldTour level(Image credit: Jack Luke/Immediate Media)
Two teams are on SRAM's unreleased eTap 12-speed groupset(Image credit: Jack Luke/Immediate Media)
Campagnolo-equipped teams will use its new Super Record EPS 12-speed groupset(Image credit: Jack Luke/Immediate Media)
Shimano supplies 12 teams for 2019(Image credit: Jack Luke/Immediate Media)
A mixture of rim- and disc-braked bikes lined up at this year's Tour Down Under(Image credit: Jack Luke/Immediate Media)
The demands and needs WorldTour pro racers place on their equipment are far removed from those of the vast majority of everyday riders, but that doesn’t stop us from enjoying ogling at the latest and greatest kit that the top-end of the sport uses.
We’ve spent the last two weeks hassling mechanics at the 2019 edition of the Tour Down Under — the opening WorldTour race of the season — and from our findings, we’re pleased to present a comprehensive illustrated breakdown of what groupsets, tyres and pedals each WorldTour team will use in 2019.
We'll also reveal which teams will exclusively ride disc brakes this season.
What groupsets do WorldTour pro racers use?
For the 2019 season, SRAM, Campagnolo and Shimano are the sole three groupset suppliers to the pro peloton.
We’ve heard rumour that Rotor’s 1x13 groupset may make an appearance on a few very, very select occasions — likely on Dimension Data’s bikes — and we wouldn’t be surprised to see FSA’s K-Force WE groupset pop up at some point, but you can guarantee that the main three will dominate the season.
For 2019, 12 teams will use Shimano’s Dura-Ace R9100 series groupsets and four teams will use Campagnolo groupsets.
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All of the Campagnolo-equipped teams, except for AG2R La Mondiale — which at the Tour Down Under was seen using a mix of previous-generation 11-speed components and Shimano cassettes — will use the as yet unreleased Super Record EPS 12-speed groupset.
Lastly, the remaining two teams — Katusha-Alpecin and Trek-Segafredo — will use the disc brake version of SRAM’s unreleased eTap 12-speed groupset.
All teams at the Tour Down Under were running electronic groupsets and are expected to do so for the vast majority of races this season — mechanical groupsets are rarely seen at cobbled classics, used by a handful of riders.
To keep things simple, in compiling this list, we are only counting shifting components (i.e., derailleurs and shifters). Many teams have third-party crankset sponsors, but to include these would unnecessarily complicate matters.
2019 WorldTour teams that use Shimano groupsets
Astana Pro Team
Bahrain-Merida
Bora-Hansgrohe
CCC Team
Deceuninck - Quick-Step
Dimension Data
EF Education First Pro Cycling
Groupama-FDJ
Mitchelton-Scott
Team Jumbo-Visma
Team Sky
Team Sunweb
2019 WorldTour teams that use Campagnolo groupsets
It should come as no surprise that every other team has also stuck steadfastly with tubs.
Likewise, with the exception of Specialized’s 26mm-wide tyres as used by Bora-Hansgrohe and Deceuninck - Quick-Step, the whole peloton rolls on 25mm-wide tyres, which has been the defacto standard for some years now.
However, the split in brands used by teams reveals slightly more variation.
The majority of teams are split between Vittoria Corsas and Continental Competition Pro tubs, but there are a number of teams running other brands: Mitchelton-Scott uses Pirelli PZero Velo tubular, Astana Pro Team run Wolfpack Race tubular, AG2R La Mondiale uses Vredestein’s Fortezza Senso T and the two aforementioned Specialized-equipped teams use the Big S’s Turbo tubular tyres.
2019 WorldTour teams that use Continental Competition Pro LTD tyres
Bahrain-Merida
Dimension Data
Groupama-FDJ
Katusha-Alpecin
Movistar Team
Team Sky
Team Sunweb
2019 WorldTour teams that use Vittoria Corsa tyres
CCC Team
EF Education First Pro Cycling
Lotto Soudal
Team Jumbo-Visma
Trek-Segafredo
UAE Team Emirates
2019 WorldTour teams that use Specialized S-Works Turbo tyres
Bora-Hansgrohe
Deceuninck - QuickStep
Other tyres
AG2R La Mondiale — Vredestein Fortezza Senso T
Astana Pro Team — Wolfpack Race Cotton tubular
Mitchelton-Scott — Pirelli PZero Velo Tubular
What pedals to WorldTour pro racers use?
The only pedal systems in use, when we examined the spare bikes mounted to the team cars lined up at the start of stage five of the 2019 Tour Down Under, were from Look and Shimano.
Shimano supplies pedals to a total of 12 teams with Look making up the rest.
While it’s not shocking to see the two biggest players in the clipless pedal game dominating the WorldTour, we were still surprised to not see a single deviation from sponsor-correct options.
2019 WorldTour teams that use Shimano pedals
Bahrain Merida
Bora-Hansgrohe
CCC Team
Deceuninck - Quick-Step
Dimension Data
EF Education First Pro Cycling
Groupama-FDJ
Mitchelton-Scott
Team Sky
Team Sunweb
Trek-Segafredo
2019 WorldTour teams that use Look pedals
AG2R La Mondiale
Katusha-Alpecin
Lotto Soudal
Team Astana
Team Jumbo-Visma
Team Movistar
UAE Team Emirates
Which WorldTour teams use disc brakes?
Trek-Segafredo, Katusha-Alpecin, Dimension Data, Bora-Hansgrohe and Deceuninck - Quick-Step have all confirmed they will ride exclusively on disc brakes in 2019.
There are a few exceptions here — for example, Trek does not yet have a disc-equipped TT bike, but we assume it’ll only be a matter of time before each of these teams has a full complement of disc-equipped bikes to hand.
Bahrain-Merida will also predominantly use discs, though Vincenzo Nibali, Rohan Dennis, Damiano Caruso and Domenico Pozzovivo will have the option to use calipers on certain mountain stages and races.
The remaining 12 teams will ride on rim brakes for 2019 but we think it’s probably safe to assume that you will see each team ride discs at some point this season.
