Di2 Tarmac with 26mm tubulars for first 100km, then mechanical Roubaix with 30mms for the pave
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Note how all his teammates' bikes have numbers on them before the start(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
Sagan had an SRM power meter for each bike(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
As the racers rolled to the start of the 2016 Paris-Roubaix, there was a single bike on a team car with a race number(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
As is the tradition, Sagan had the cobble sectors taped to his stem(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
While riders have multiple (and often identical) bikes, they are only issued one race number per event(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
Sagan's Roubaix had mechanical Dura-Ace, while his first-100km Tarmac had Di2(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
Sagan started on 26mm tubulars, but rode the last two thirds of the race on 30s(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
Sagan's SRM head unit likely had some impressive numbers recorded in it by day's end(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
Sagan has his own logo, which often pops up on his gear(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
Roval CLX60 wheels for aero benefit in the fast opening hours(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
The empty holder says planned bike change(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
Good thing Sagan runs a long Zipp SL Sprint stem(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
You see the theeme here?(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
Sagan logo on Prologo(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
Di2 sprint shifters poke out of the Supacaz tape. Sagan opted for mechnical Dura-Ace once the race hit the stones(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
Scotch tape might not be the most elegant solution, but it gets the job done(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
Sagan went with 26mm to start the day(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
While Sagan and Fabian Cancellara have opted for mechanical Shimano for the cobbles, a majority of the Shimano-sponsored riders this year used the electric option, including race winner Matthew Hayman(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
Sagan's Specialized S-Works Roubaix had meaty gears(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)
Peter Sagan (Tinkoff) started the 2016 Paris-Roubaix with his dedicated cobbles bike atop the first team follow car. As the 258km race left Compiegne, Sagan pedaled away on a Specialized S-Works Tarmac with deep aero wheels and 26mm tubulars.
“The energy savings in the early part of the race is critical,” Specialized team liaison Gianpaolo Mondini said before the race. “He will switch after about 100km."
Most other riders opted to split the difference, and start and (hopefully) finish on 28mm tubulars.
The other notable difference was the drivetrain. The Tarmac had Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 with sprint shifters; the pavé set-up had mechanical Shimano Dura-Ace.
Sagan’s top rival Fabian Cancellara has long favoured mechanical Dura-Ace over Di2, and again started the race on the cable-actuated group.
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These two riders are increasingly in the minority, however, with a dozen teams at Paris-Roubaix using Di2 for some if not all of their riders.