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Tour of Flanders tech - Gallery

By Ben Delaney/Immediate Media

published 3 April 2016

Unreleased bikes, tubular choice, tire pressure and more from the 100th Ronde

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Rotor size remains a debated subject in the pro peloton(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)

The K8 is similar to the K8-S bike that was launched at last year's Tour of Flanders with one key difference: no rear elastomer suspension(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)

Team Sky started the Tour of Flanders on two bikes: the Dogma F8 and the not-yet-announced K8(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)

Speculation is rife that this part could house some sort of vibration-damping technology, similar to the IsoSpeed Decoupler at the rear of the frame(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)

The segmented head tube/top tube junction is most curious(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)

A little cobble detail on the back of the Domane down tube(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)

The split down tube of the new Trek Domane(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)

Scarface intended to go out shooting at his last Tour of Flanders(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)

Fabian Cancellara is riding a new Trek Domane that Trek still isn't talking about(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)

With 28mm tubulars, Giant-Alpecin set most pressures aroudn 5.5bar / 80psi(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)

The K8 has the same flattened chainstays as the K8-S(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)

Sky goes a step beyond cutting out the race bible's list of cobble sectors and taping it to the top tube(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)

There would likely be some big numbers recorded in this Garmin by day's end(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)

While new school technologies abound, sometimes the tried-and-true is just fine(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)

Shimano is happy to help Look riders, too(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)

Shimano neutral support for the Tour of Flanders had a token set of disc wheels on each car — but with 140mm rotors, not the 160mm version Lampre-Merida used(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)

Orica-Greenedge has a mix of integrated Scott Foil stems and standard options(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)

Dimension Data is running Rotor's new 2INpower(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)

Dimension Data's Tyler Farrar lays out the day's expectation(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)

Kwiatkowski's computer(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)

Michal Kwiatkowski doesn't like a baggy chain, evidently(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)

The race number sits where the K8-S's elastomer suspension would be — Team Sky riders liked the suspension when seated but disliked it when out of the saddle, so it was removed(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)

Some like to shift with their thumb, others with their forefinger(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)

Giant-Alpecin riders have two ways to run the climbing switch shifter(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)

Most AG2R bikes have SRAM's wireless eTap drivetrain, but the odd mechanical group can be spotted now and again(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)

Not everyone uses a Garmin or an SRM head unit, you know(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)

Wanty-Groupe Gobert rode the Tour of Flanders in memory of their late teammate Antoine Demoitié(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)

Riders cannot ride a non-sponsor-correct frame, of course, but saddles can be another matter(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)

Saddle choice is always a matter of personal preference, but the cobblestones accentuate this(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)

On many teams, each rider has a specific front and rear pressure(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)

Tire pressure is obsessed about before the race(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)

What is the wax formula? "It is a special secret," a mechanic told us(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)

Some Astana riders had Specialized-branded tubulars. Others had these, likely FMBs(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)

While the rest of his Astana teammates used standard chain lube, Boom's white chain stood out(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)

Fizik's relatively new line of anatomic-channel saddles are becoming popular in the peloton, as is the Specialized Power saddle(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)

Continental is the most-used tubular in the pro peloton now, with 10 Flanders teams aboard the German brand's rubber(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)

The 11-28 cassette is a common sight at the Tour of Flanders. The cobbled hills aren't long, but they are steep and narrow(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)

Is there water or sports drink in here? Sometimes the simplest marking solutions are the best(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)

Boonen was the one Etixx rider aboard a Specialized Roubaix; the rest rode Tarmacs(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)

Supacaz handlebar tape is the company of Anthony Sinyard, son of Specialized founder Mike Sinyard(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)

Tom Boonen runs his bar tape right up against the stem(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)

Vandenbergh and Etixx teammate Matteo Trentini opted for 28mm tubulars; the rest of the team used 26(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)

At Etixx, Stijn Vandenbergh runs sprint shifters with spliced cables up to his stem, making for a much smaller option than Shimano's substantial climbing switch(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)

An example of the small-hole method(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)

Some mechanics make a small cut in the tape, others just wrap tightly around the shifter(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)

There are a few different ways to wrap around or over a Shimano Di2 sprint shifter(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)

Lars Boom's chain with a healthy coating of race-day wax(Image credit: Ben Delaney/Immediate Media)

This article first appeared on Bike Radar

Tour of Flanders: Lampre-Merida become first WorldTour team all on disc brakes

Although the Tour of Flanders is steeped in history and tradition, there is always room for new things. At the 100th running of the Ronde van Vlaanderen, unreleased Trek and Pinarello bikes were raced alongside an entire fleet of Merida Scultura Disc machines, and waxed chains were spun through electronic and mechanical drivetrains alike.

Click through the sizable gallery above for a close look at the Pinarello K8, the new Trek Domane, the specific tubular pressure methodology of a few teams, riders’ saddle preferences and much, much more.