While we were in Denia, Spain recently to sit down with Mathieu van der Poel and hear about his plans for 2023, we also managed to get a sneaky look at his Canyon Aeroad CFR race bike.
An Alpecin Deceuninck team mechanic had just finished cleaning the bike after a training ride so was happy to take it off the stand and hand it over to let us take some pictures. We also managed to spot a few little interesting points on the bike which are easy to miss at first glance.
Like in recent years, Van der Poel will be riding the Canyon Aeroad CFR for 2023 and, at around 1.8 metres tall, is riding a size large frame. He will ride a simple yet effective block red-and-white colour scheme.
Alpecin-Deceuninck step up to the UCI WorldTour for 2023 and as can be expected from such a big team and for one of the best cyclists in the world, the Dutchman’s bike is a super high-end, no-nonsense package.
Shimano supplies the team with equipment and Van der Poel’s bike is fitted with a Dura-Ace R9200 12-speed groupset. Dura-Ace C36 wheels were also fitted to the bike for training but expect to see Van der Poel running the deeper profile C50 or C60 wheels regularly in races next year.
An 11-34t cassette at the rear was paired with 54-40t chainrings at the front, as is common on a lot of WorldTour riders’ bikes now. The crank arm length on Van der Poel’s bike was 172.5mm and fitted to the power meter equipped chainset were Dura-Ace SPD-SL pedals with a normal-length axle fitted. Some pro riders like Ben Swift prefer the extended version to achieve their correct bike fit.
Elsewhere on the bike, the handlebar tape and the saddle are taken care of by Selle Italia, with a white Flite saddle with carbon fibre rails being a longtime favourite of the Dutchman. Bottle cages are the Elite Custom Race Plus, used by several World Tour teams. Like most pro riders, Van der Poel had a name sticker in a prominent position on the top tube of the frame. This helps the mechanics as much as anyone and lets them identify the correct bike every time.
Van der Poel’s bike looks to be equipped with the Canyon CP0018 adjustable cockpit. The handlebar width is adjustable, as is the stem height without the need to cut the steerer tube. This bar has been through a redesign by Canyon after Van der Poel’s…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at CyclingNews RSS Feed…