Snow-tackling 'cross bike for USA national road race champion
Image 1 of 12
Alex Howes' Cannondale SuperX bike for Old Man Winter Rally(Image credit: Alex Howes)
'Howesy' sticker adorns the top tube (Image credit: Alex Howes)
Dry tyres for anything but dry conditions, Howes confirmed he was considering swapping them out(Image credit: Alex Howes)
Shimano Dura-Ace R9170 Di2 levers provide the shifting and braking(Image credit: Alex Howes)
However, the Shimano brakes are paired with SRAM rotors (Image credit: Alex Howes)
Besides the crank and chainrings, the rest of the groupset comes from Shimano(Image credit: Alex Howes)
Howes: "It says 46/36 but there’s really a 34 hidden in there"(Image credit: Alex Howes)
Howes: "These pedals are great for gravel racing because I can be locked in with zero float with great power transfer yet I’m still able to hop off and run through mud and snow without worrying about clipping back in"(Image credit: Alex Howes)
Howes is using the Prologo Dimension Tri saddle, and claimed it's the most comfortable saddle he's ever ridden(Image credit: Alex Howes)
It's perched atop an FSA K-Force carbon post which has 25mm of setback(Image credit: Alex Howes)
The front of Howes' snow-covered SuperX sees Prologo bar tape wrapped around FSA Energy aluminium bars(Image credit: Alex Howes)
Howes: "I love the Garmin Edge 830. It has full maps and navigational capabilities crucial for the gravel races. Yet it’s compact and relatively light weight"(Image credit: Alex Howes)
This weekend, Alex Howes lined up in his first gravel race of the 2020 season, taking on Old Man Winter Rally, a 100km off-road winter epic based in Colorado.
The weather was the big talking point of the day, and it soon put an end to Howes' prospects, with the Old Man Winter Rally being abandoned due to heavy snow a mere 30 minutes after it began, with US Road Race champion Howes taking to Instagram to jokingly request an Uber, before his compatriot - and off-road rival - Peter Stetina added "old man winter won this one".
Howes' bike is specced largely with FSA components, by virtue of EF Education First's sponsorship agreement with the brand.
Howes told Cyclingnews: "FSA supplies the rings up front paired to a set of 172.5 Cannondale Si cranks. It says 46/36 but there’s really a 34 hidden in there. With the larger tires, a 34/46 measures out like a 36/48. Having the smaller gears is pretty crucial up here at altitude where the engine room is always strapped for power."
The Cycling computer of choice is the Garmin Edge 830, about which Howes added: "I love the Garmin Edge 830. It has full maps and navigational capabilities crucial for the gravel races. Yet it’s compact and relatively lightweight."
Like EF-Education First's road bikes, such as Lachlan Morton's Cannondale SuperSix Evo that we recently photographed, Howes' gears come courtesy of Shimano's Dura-Ace Di2 shifters paired with an Ultegra Di2 rear derailleur, and Dura-Ace up-front. However when it comes to braking, Howes' has opted for Shimano Ultegra calipers paired with SRAM rotors.
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
As part of the EF Education First alternative calendar, Howes (and newly bald Lachlan Morton) are expected to continue racing off-road throughout 2020, and while this week's race saw Howes on a SuperX, both riders have been known to use the Cannondale Topstone gravel bike, as well as the brand's range of mountain bikes - we'll do our best to get galleries of them all.
Click through the gallery above for a closer look at Alex Howes' Cannondale SuperX
Alex Howes' Cannondale SuperX full bike specifications
Frameset: Cannondale SuperX
Front brake: Shimano Ultegra R8070 Hydraulic Disc caliper
Josh is Associate Editor of Cyclingnews – leading our content on the best bikes, kit and the latest breaking tech stories from the pro peloton. He has been with us since the summer of 2019 and throughout that time he's covered everything from buyer's guides and deals to the latest tech news and reviews.
On the bike, Josh has been riding and racing for over 15 years. He started out racing cross country in his teens back when 26-inch wheels and triple chainsets were still mainstream, but he found favour in road racing in his early 20s, racing at a local and national level for Somerset-based Team Tor 2000. These days he rides indoors for convenience and fitness, and outdoors for fun on road, gravel, 'cross and cross-country bikes, the latter usually with his two dogs in tow.
