Do you like raw fish, soured rice and seaweed, the ingredients of the Japanese national dish sushi? Or do you prefer pasta, pizza and tiramisu? For the majority of Germans - including racing cyclists - the answer is clear. That's why in some places it's now easier to find a pizzeria than a home-style restaurant. Japanese restaurants, on the other hand, are still considered exotic and elitist.
The culinary preferences are therefore in stark contrast to the purchasing behaviour of domestic racing cyclists - at least when it comes to components. The market share of the Italian manufacturer Campagnolo, the world market leader for high-quality road bike technology until the 1980s, is probably around 20 per cent today, possibly even less. At least this is documented by the figures from the annual TOUR reader survey. In 1999, 29 per cent of respondents stated that they had Campagnolo components fitted to their bikes. In 2005 it was still 24 per cent. In the same period, the proportion of arch-rival Shimano rose to 75 per cent.
So are times bleak for Campagnolo? For bikes between 1,000 and 2,000 euros, the strongest market segment in Germany, the answer is clear. There is a fierce price war going on here, with Shimano clearly in the lead. The Japanese have two irons in the fire in the form of the functionally and visually first-class Ultegra groupset and the recently launched 105 groupset, while Campagnolo's innovation forge in the mid-range has remained cold for some time - the Centaur groupset is getting on in years.
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