12-speed Campagnolo Super Record EPS spotted at the Tour Down Under

The Tour Down Under is traditionally the first time that the latest and greatest cycling products are first used in anger by the WorldTour cycling teams and straight off the production line is a brand new Campagnolo Super Record EPS groupset, spotted on the Canyon Ultimates of Movistar, the Ridley Noahs of Lotto-Soudal as well as the Eddy Merckx of AG2R La Mondiale.

The new groupset follows hot on the heels of the mechanical 12-speed Record and Super Record groupsets that were launched last spring. It was only a matter of time, then, before the Italian company would produce an electronic version, especially considering the time since EPS last had a refresh.

The new derailleurs don't look dramatically different to the old Campag EPS system although the rear derailleur cage is perhaps a bit smaller – something that 12-speed allowed thanks to the use of a thinner chain. We'd also assume that the pulley wheels have also grown in size and it looks like both derailleurs have received Campagnolo's new-look, first debuted last spring.

The EPS junction box sits underneath the stem of all the bikes that we've seen EPS on currently, it's unclear whether we'll see it tucked away like Shimano's Di2 junction box.

The Campagnolo Super-Record shifters also follow the same style as its mechanical sibling and retains the traditional thumb shifters that allow you to 'dunk' multiple gears at once. On the mechanical Campagnolo groupsets each use is met with a satisfying crunch, so it'll be interesting to see how it works electronically.

On all three of the bikes, the the groupset is being used in partnership with a power meter and both Lotto Soudal and Movistar are pairing the groupset to Campagnolo's Bora wheels, whereas AG2R La Mondiale are using Mavic Cosmic wheels.

Despite Campag's 12-speed launch in early 2018, this is the first time that we've seen the WorldTour teams use the increased number of gears, presumably because electronic shifting is almost universally used at the top of the sport.