Ok, I got the winner wrong - but I was correct in my prediction of the winning tactics.
Haven't seen any footage yet, but sounds like it lived up to expectations.
This 'news' has been floating around since the end of February. It's an announcement rather than a hard fact, presumably to test the water
For those of us that worship the creator of STI, SPD, cassettes, and a whole lot more, this is a make or break thing. I don't particularly want electronically shifted gears, or 12 sprockets on my cassette, and I certainly don't want the expense of buying an electronic gear-shifting set up.
If they do merge the ranges, and end up with re-inforced sprockets, chainrings and chains to be e-bike friendly (that is how it has been reported by some sources), then I will turn to the dark side - SRAM. (Forgive me Father Graham for thinking such a thought)
Shimano are a massive company and they know that bike companies could easily source their components from SRAM and it could finish them. I suspect this 'news' is to test what the opposition is like to such a move, more than anything else.
https://www.cyclist.co.uk/news/shimano-cues