What have the pros changed about their bikes for this brutal race?
A Trek-Segafredo rider's golden rear cassette(Image credit: Will Jones)
The Tour of Flanders is probably the biggest one-day race of the year, though you'd hear just as many people claiming the same about Paris-Roubaix.
Both races feature sections of hellishly rough cobbles, but while Roubaix is almost entirely flat, Flanders is the opposite. As such it requires bikes equipped to deal with the cobbles, but still be a competitive weight to help deal with the climbs.
I spent some time in the team enclosure at the start of the race, while the teams were going in and out for the presentations, trying to find any key setup changes the riders were making for the big day.
There are tyre changes, the top four bikes, newly adopted tyre tech, unusual gear ratios, new chainrings, different cockpits, and a better look at the new Canyon Aeroad. Dive in, it's a big one!
Let's kick off at the Team UAE Emirates. Here Tim Wellens has swapped his standard Shimano Dura-Ace chainrings out for a set from Carbon-Ti, made from carbon and titanium. (Image credit: Will Jones)
They do blend in a little more easily on the all-black Colnago V4Rs than they would on some other team bikes (Image credit: Will Jones)
Here's the rear side, where you can see how the teeth are attached to the carbon chainrings more clearly (Image credit: Will Jones)
One of the team staff is attaching a GoPro to the underside of a saddle, for in-race footage (Image credit: Will Jones)
Et voila, in-race footage achieved (Image credit: Will Jones)
Each of the riders had an allen key taped to their seatpost, in order that they could more swiftly remove a wheel in the event of an issue, rather than waiting for a team car or neutral service to do it (Image credit: Will Jones)
The tape on the top tubes denotes the tyre pressure requires. Here, Tadej Pogacar is after a 3.6/3.4 bar or 52/49 psi split (Image credit: Will Jones)
Tadej Pogacar's bike often uses a one-piece Colnago cockpit for stage races, but for the cobbles, he uses a separate system and aero bars (Image credit: Will Jones)
The tyres, 30mm Continental GP5000 S TR, were set up tubeless and had foam inserts in them to further prevent punctures (Image credit: Will Jones)
Pogacar, interestingly, opted to use the standard Dura-Ace rings, rather than those from Carbon-Ti (Image credit: Will Jones)
Matteo Trentin has a more old school cockpit, with round bars and a long, slammed stem (Image credit: Will Jones)
His computer mount is perhaps the most diminutive and minimalist in the pro peloton (Image credit: Will Jones)
This computer mount, an integrated aero unit that meshes with the Colnago cockpit, is a stark contrast and is claimed to save 0.75 Watts (Image credit: Will Jones)
Here's a better look at the tyre pressure notation system the team uses (Image credit: Will Jones)
I couldn't make out who's cranks these were, but they've certainly seen some action. The 54/40 chainrings though do give the rider a better range for climbing than the standard configuration (Image credit: Will Jones)
The wider internals of the Enve SES 3.4 rims plump up the tyres to look larger than a 30mm size would usually (Image credit: Will Jones)
The teams snack game is strong, with all the main food groups accounted for; potatoes, chocolate, honey, and coffee (Image credit: Will Jones)
The lightweight computer mount, also seen on the new Canyon Ultimate, weighs only 17g. Competition for Trentin for sure (Image credit: Will Jones)
Here's a game for you: Spot the differences between the new Aeroad frame shape... (Image credit: Will Jones)
...and the old one (Image credit: Will Jones)
A matte upper portion of the paint helps break up the lines a bit. Notice this prototype has Van der Poel's personal logo embossed on the head tube (Image credit: Will Jones)
Shimano Dura-Ace hubs and 50mm deep rims for Van der Poel (Image credit: Will Jones)
The bottom bracket of the existing Aeroad is very similar to the new one, but this new colour for the team bikes is pretty spectacular in person (Image credit: Will Jones)
CFR denotes 'Canyon Factory Racing', the lightest frameset option the brand makes, with pro specific geometry (Image credit: Will Jones)
28mm Vittoria Corsa Pro (as yet unreleased) tyres seemed to be the order of the day for the Alpecin riders, and the same in terms of width for most other teams too (Image credit: Will Jones)
Here's a better look at that embossed logo, the lightweight computer mount, and the modular system that Canyon uses for it's cockpits - the bits with bar tape detach with two bolts either side (Image credit: Will Jones)
Here's Van der Poel's nutrition strategy, if you can decipher it. The smiley faces are caffeine gels (Image credit: Will Jones)
Standard Dura-Ace rings for the second place rider (Image credit: Will Jones)
Here's the seat clamp bolt on the old Aeroad, covered by a rubber bung (Image credit: Will Jones)
The riders seem to all have similar nutrition strategies (Image credit: Will Jones)
All the team wheels have a team sticker on them next to the valve (Image credit: Will Jones)
Gianni Vermeesch raced on the new Canyon Ultimate. If it's good enough to win gravel worlds on it's probably up to Flanders (Image credit: Will Jones)
The Dura-Ace cassette is half titanium, half stainless steel to save precious grams (Image credit: Will Jones)
54/40 chainrings for Van der Poel. I bet that hurt the last time up the Kwaremont... (Image credit: Will Jones)
Here we have Wout van Aert's bike. No stone unturned in the pursuit of speed, the recesses for the bolts in the bars have been taped over to smooth the airflow. Sadly this wasn't enough to make the difference, but interesting nonetheless (Image credit: Will Jones)
Again, 28mm Corsa Pro tyres were sufficiently wide for the Jumbo-Visma squad (Image credit: Will Jones)
Aerodynamic Speedplay pedals utilise a dimpled pattern akin to a golf ball to speed things up (Image credit: Will Jones)
Mid-depth 40/44 reserve wheels were the choice for the day. The pace of the race was such in the early part that even deeper ones may have fared well too. I'm not certain what the notation on the rim is; it's too low for pressure, so perhaps something regarding sealant? Answers on a postcard (Image credit: Will Jones)
Wout Van Aert was running a Sram Red 10-28T cassette. (Image credit: Will Jones)
The usual pro-level chainrings up front; no strange doubles here (Image credit: Will Jones)
This is the front of one of Wout's spare bikes, a Cervelo S5... (Image credit: Will Jones)
...but one team car also had an R5, Cervelo's lightweight option, on the roof for him too (Image credit: Will Jones)
The rear triangle is much more of a classic look, without even, the nearly ubiquitous dropped chainstays we see on every bike nowadays (Image credit: Will Jones)
Over at Trek-Segafredo, I got a chance to look at the bikes of third-place rider Mads Pederson, who really lit the race up at the tail end. Like the rest of the team, he's using Time pedals, the only World Tour team to be doing so (Image credit: Will Jones)
28mm Pirelli P-Zero Race tyres were sufficiently wide for the cobbles. Here the rear tyre sits flush with the aero sculpting of Mads Pedersen's bike, the new Trek Madone (Image credit: Will Jones)
Mads Pederson gets the special gold Sram chain and cassette treatment on account of his World Road title (Image credit: Will Jones)
This was his spare bike, so stayed a little more clean than his race bike (Image credit: Will Jones)
We are told the special gold Sram equipment is provided to their past World and Olympic champions, cassette included. (Image credit: Will Jones)
Nothing hugely unusual though he opted for black sidewalls while the rest of the team used tan. There's no real difference between the two, so it may just be a stylistic choice (Image credit: Will Jones)
Curiously though, while the rest of the team used the deeper Dura-Ace C50 wheelsets, Pidcock opted for the shallower C38 option, perhaps hoping it would give him the edge on the punchy climbs (Image credit: Will Jones)
Pidcock uses a Fizik Arione saddle, but you can see there is some variety within the team (Image credit: Will Jones)
Pro mechanics don't bother with track pumps; a handheld compressor is a much quicker solution, paired with a digital pressure gauge (Image credit: Will Jones)
Deeper wheels and tan wall, 28mm tyres for Jhonatan Narváez(Image credit: Will Jones)
Here are Pidcock's chainrings for his race bike. I didn't get a decent look before getting ushered away but I think these may be the older 11sp rings... (Image credit: Will Jones)
...His spare bike on the team car was definitely using the older DA 9100 chainset and rings though. I've heard from mechanics that they seem to hold the chain a little better, especially important in cobbled races, and Pidcock is certainly not the only rider to be doing this (Image credit: Will Jones)
Not opting for the grippier, more puncture-resistant GP5000 AS, the middle-of-the-road S model was the choice for Pidcock (Image credit: Will Jones)
Here's a glimpse inside the Ineos team car, with race info on one screen and a second screen to access live footage or other information on the move (Image credit: Will Jones)
The clamp on Pidcock's seatpost is titanium. As we've seen on his bike before his saddle is rammed all the way back on the rails to get his optimum fit (Image credit: Will Jones)
Plenty of race notes for the young Brit (Image credit: Will Jones)
Again, there's no way of knowing what the bottle notation means, but it's probably one for water and one for electrolytes (Image credit: Will Jones)
Here is the cockpit of Julian Alaphilippe's spare bike. Like Trentin, he opts for a round bar and stem combo, despite the wattage losses (Image credit: Will Jones)
Interestingly Soudal-QuickStep appeared to be using clinchers for the race, as evidenced by the valves on the wheels (Image credit: Will Jones)
It's hard to see bearings, so a CeramicSpeed sticker lets everyone know the headset, bottom bracket and likely the hub bearings too have been swapped out for ceramic options (Image credit: Will Jones)
The sidewalls of the Specialized Turbo Cotton tyres, also in 28mm here, are noticeably darker than that of the Corsa Pro (Image credit: Will Jones)
Here is Kasper Asgreen's spare bike, again with a two-piece cockpit, but Asgreen does utilise an aero bar to save a few watts (Image credit: Will Jones)
I didn't catch the rider, but one of the team was using a non-standard 56/44 double up front (Image credit: Will Jones)
Different valves, but still an inner tube rather than tubs (Image credit: Will Jones)
The Nexen wheel logos of Intermarche-Circus-Wanty certainly stand out (Image credit: Will Jones)
Here is the crankset of Eritrean classics rider Biniam Girmay, a Rotor Aldhu chainset with spider-based power meter (Image credit: Will Jones)
I didn't catch the pro bikes from EF Education-EasyPost, though we've covered the new Cannondale SuperSix Evo in great detail recently anyway. What I did spot was this giant blanket, stuffed in the back of the team car. Perhaps to warm up any riders, or allow the DS to have a nap during all the downtime that happens in such a chaotic race as Flanders... (Image credit: Will Jones)
I did hear that EF was also using tyre inserts, but you can't take photos of tyre inserts, so here's a pink crocodile from the team car instead. In a sport as traditional as road cycling it is refreshing to see teams breaking the mould in some ways (Image credit: Will Jones)
A Norwegian chainstay protector? Got to be an Uno-X rider for sure (Image credit: Will Jones)
That's right, it's Alexander Kristoff. Previously a Flanders winner, here he's using DT Swiss wheels, and 28mm Schwalbe Pro One tyres. Plus, he gets a little sticker on his wheels so nobody else can steal them (Image credit: Will Jones)
The front end of the Uno-X Dare bikes are rather monolithic and brutal (Image credit: Will Jones)
Unlike some other riders on other teams, Kristoff clearly trusts the integrity of carbon monocoque cockpits, even over the cobbles (Image credit: Will Jones)
Speaking of cockpits, here's a razorlike model as seen on the new Look bikes as ridden by Cofidis (Image credit: Will Jones)
Aero-optimised frames are great for cheating the wind, but there are more surfaces for dirt to sit between and grind your paint away than ever before (Image credit: Will Jones)
Cofidis still used tubular tyres, which are glued on. Here you can see some of that glue that splurged up the tyre sidewalls (Image credit: Will Jones)
And here it's beading out of the interface. This happens when the tyre, a Michelin Power Cup in this case, gets inflated and squeezes any excess out (Image credit: Will Jones)
Another cryptic sidewall code... any suggestions? (Image credit: Will Jones)
The crank clamping system on these Look branded SRM Origin cranks is very similar to what we've seen on superlight options like those from THM (Image credit: Will Jones)
A little flaky lacquer and carbon can't hurt, right? (Image credit: Will Jones)
K for Koppenberg: This Arkea-Samsic rider only has one thing on his mind it seems (Image credit: Will Jones)
Perhaps distrustful of the carbon bars following Hugo Hofstetter snapping his twice-on-one race, this is still a monumentally ugly solution from Clement Russo(Image credit: Will Jones)
Here it is again; absolute nightmare fuel for fans of style (Image credit: Will Jones)
This rider had a little more detail to his race notes, but the Koppenbeg was still the main feature (Image credit: Will Jones)
There's no missing the EF team cars that's for sure... (Image credit: Will Jones)
You do get to get up close and personal to the pro riders as they roll out to the presentation, before heading back to the busses for one last coffee (Image credit: Will Jones)
The Wout effect; the crowd was a sea of phones as he stepped out of the team bus (Image credit: Will Jones)
Not strictly tech, but the owner of this jacket clearly thinks it's a serve, while someone else is clearly less sure (Image credit: Will Jones)
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Will joined the Cyclingnews team as a reviews writer in 2022, having previously written for Cyclist, BikeRadar and Advntr. He’s tried his hand at most cycling disciplines, from the standard mix of road, gravel, and mountain bike, to the more unusual like bike polo and tracklocross. He’s made his own bike frames, covered tech news from the biggest races on the planet, and published countless premium galleries thanks to his excellent photographic eye. Also, given he doesn’t ever ride indoors he’s become a real expert on foul-weather riding gear. His collection of bikes is a real smorgasbord, with everything from vintage-style steel tourers through to superlight flat bar hill climb machines.
