Deep wheels and bar-top brake levers mingle at sprinter's race before Paris-Roubiax
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Trek Factory Racing went all in with the endurance Domane bikes at Scheldeprijs — clearly a trial run for Sunday (Image credit: Courtesy Castelli)
Deep wheels come out in force at the sprint-fest Scheldeprijs (Image credit: Courtesy Castelli)
Lotto-Jumbo's Bianchi Infinito CV feature carbon lay-ups with claimed vibration damping built in. Note the deep rear wheel (Image credit: Courtesy Castelli)
Who needs a name sticker when you can have your own paint? (Image credit: Courtesy Castelli)
Although dubbed the Climbing Switch, Shimano's Di2 thumb-operated remote is popular for the cobbles when riders often ride with their hands on the tops (Image credit: Courtesy Castelli)
Van Marke's race bike lacked the Pioneer power meter used by the rest of his team (Image credit: Courtesy Castelli)
An unmarked Shimano C70 (Image credit: Courtesy Castelli)
Pioneer's power meter now works without the outboard bottom bracket necessary on the first iteration (Image credit: Courtesy Castelli)
Katusha went deep with 80mm wheels (Image credit: Courtesy Castelli)
Nothing says flat-and-fast like a Cosmic CXR 80 (Image credit: Courtesy Castelli)
Luca Paolini don't need no stinkin' small gears for Scheldeprijs (Image credit: Courtesy Castelli)
Why does Gregory Rast have a TT bike at a one-day road race? No idea (Image credit: Courtesy Castelli)
The key point on the Domane is the so-called Decoupler that allows the seattub to pivot within the toptube/seatstay yoke (Image credit: Courtesy Castelli)
Bretagne-Seche brought aero bikes to Scheldeprijs with the Look 795 (Image credit: Courtesy Castelli)
Wheels in the 50-80mm depth are common at Scheldeprijs — a pancake-flat course with a sprint finish (Image credit: Courtesy Castelli)
A 53/44t (on an Astana bike) is more standard for this point in the race calendar (Image credit: Courtesy Castelli)
With 25mm tubulars being the standard at Scheldeprijs, this was the widest casing we saw, on a Specialized-sponsored Astana bike (Image credit: Courtesy Castelli)
Europcar's Johann Gene was clearly race-testing his Paris-Roubaix bike (Image credit: Courtesy Castelli)
The Giant Propel with Shimano C50 wheels is a machine made for Scheldeprijs (Image credit: Courtesy Castelli)
Bradley Wiggins will be flying the Team Sky flag through Paris-Roubaix, then he's done (Image credit: Courtesy Castelli)
Bradley Wiggins' Pinarello Dogma FS-8 made its second appearance at Scheldeprijs (Image credit: Courtesy Castelli)
With elastomer suspension, the Dogma FS-8 is designed for the cobblestones of Paris-Roubaix. Wiggins was just testing it out ahead of the race on Sunday (Image credit: Courtesy Castelli)
Despite clearly being built for rough roads, the Dogma FS-8 cuts a very aero figure up front (Image credit: Courtesy Castelli)
The hourglass headtube of the Dogma FS-8 (Image credit: Courtesy Castelli)
Grip tape on the Elite cages will hopefully keep bottles from ejecting over the Paris-Roubaix cobbles (Image credit: Courtesy Castelli)
Wiggins had his tape wrapped right up to the stem (Image credit: Courtesy Castelli)
Studies in miminalism: a Speedplay pedal and a Stages power meter (Image credit: Courtesy Castelli)
Pro and amateur alike, riders either love or hate the Giro lace-up shoes. Wiggins likes them (Image credit: Courtesy Castelli)
At Scheldeprijs and Paris-Roubaix, riders either go standard or go big. This rider, Wanty's Frederique Robert went smaller, as he has been feeling under the weather (Image credit: Courtesy Castelli)
Bretagne-Seche is notable for their use of Polar watches (a sponsor) wrapped around the handlebars. All other teams just use cycling computers with dedicated mounts (Image credit: Courtesy Castelli)
At the pancake-flat Scheldeprijs Wednesday, aero bikes with deep wheels mingled with endurance bikes with Paris-Roubaix-style modifications, revealing the mixed objectives of riders at the sprinter's race in northern Belgium. Some were there for the win; others to fine-tune their Roubaix set-ups ahead of the Hell of the North.
For riders and teams eager to contest the sprint finish, 50mm wheels were the minimum, with 60, 70 and even 80mm rims in regular use. Similarly, aero frames and aero road helmets were plentiful.
For others, getting a few more races miles on endurance frames with modified cockpits and gearing were the priority.
Europcar's Yohann Gene set out from Antwerp with old-cyclocross-style bar-top brake levers on his Colnago CX Zero.
For a little extra insurance, Team Sky's Bradley Wiggins had grip tape on the Elite bottle cages mounted on his new Pinarello Dogma F8-S.
Lotto-Soudal's Lars Bak rode a prototype Ridley Phoenix, a future update to the Belgian brand's endurance platform. His inner chainring was a huge 46t, put on in advance of Paris-Roubaix. Other riders had 53/44t and even 54/44t chainrings installed. On the other end of the spectrum, Wanty-Groupe Gobert's Frederique Robert had a semi-compact 52/38t mounted. "He hasn't been feeling well," his mechanic said.
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One Paris-Roubaix modification notably absent from all teams at Scheldeprijs, of course, is tubular selection. Teams will be breaking out the 28 and even 30mm tubulars for Roubaix on Sunday. At Scheldeprijs, 25mm tubulars were the norm.
For a close look at the unique blend of bikes and gear at the midweek race, check out the gallery above.
