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Prototype Ridley Fenix raced in Belgium

By Jason Sumner

published 10 April 2015

Lotto-Soudal tests out new endurance bike on the cobbles

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Lotto-Soudal is testing a Ridley Fenix prototype in Belgium(Image credit: Courtesy Castelli)

Unmarked for now, this will be the new Ridley Fenix model(Image credit: Courtesy Castelli)

Juding by the gap between the frame and the 25mm Continental, the new Fenix frame looks to have plenty of clearance for wider tubulars(Image credit: Courtesy Castelli)

Lotto-Soudal's 25mm tubular of choice(Image credit: Courtesy Castelli)

The minimalist seatstay yoke on the new Fenix(Image credit: Courtesy Castelli)

The new Ridley Fenix endurance bike stands out from Ridley's race Helium SL and aero Noah SL bikes used by Lotto-Soudal(Image credit: Courtesy Castelli)

Selle San Marco's Regal is a new version of an old school design(Image credit: Courtesy Castelli)

A steep negative stem gets Bak to his desired position atop the tall headtube(Image credit: Courtesy Castelli)

Lars Bak was the one Lotto-Soudal rider on the new Fenix at Scheldeprijs(Image credit: Courtesy Castelli)

Thick chainstays constrast with the thin seaststays(Image credit: Courtesy Castelli)

K-Edge makes a chain catcher with a magnet extension for use with an SRM power meter. This way mechanics don't have to glue the magenet to their frame(Image credit: Courtesy Castelli)

Lars Bak had his Paris-Roubaix gear of 53/46 already on for Scheldeprijs on Wednesday(Image credit: Courtesy Castelli)

The prototype Fenix has internal routing for mechanical systems, but Lotto-Soudal has plugged the left port as the team uses Campagnolo EPS(Image credit: Courtesy Castelli)

Internal routing on the new Fenix(Image credit: Courtesy Castelli)

Being an endurance bike, the Fenix sports a sizable headtube(Image credit: Courtesy Castelli)

The new Ridley Fenix will abe announced just before the 2015 Tour de France(Image credit: Courtesy Castelli)

Thin chainstays for compliance(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)

This article originally appeared on BikeRadar

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Ridley will launch a new Fenix endurance bike before the Tour de France this year, and the Belgian WorldTour squad Lotto-Soudal is testing prototypes at the cobbled classics of Ronde van Vlaanderen and Paris-Roubaix.

Ridley isn't talking about the new bike yet, but BikeRadar took a close look at rider Lars Bak's machine at Scheldeprijs, the Wednesday race sandwiched between the early April classics.

"Ridley made this bike specifically for the cobbles," said Lotto-Soudal spokesman Arne Houtekier. "We have been testing it for just a few weeks, and the guys like it for the rough roads."

Compared to the current Fenix, Lotto-Soudal's prototype has more heavily sculpted tubes. The top tube, for instance, is noticeably flatter on the new frame with an arching curve, the down and seat tubes are less boxy and the curved transitions between tubes is gentler and more organic than the current bike.