Paris-Roubaix always delivers in terms of tech stories. Teams rock up with new tech, custom one-off components, and all the hacks they can muster to try and tame the cobbles. While the men's field seems to have coalesced on an aero-bikes-only approach, save for Israel-Premier Tech, who are using gravel bikes, the women's peloton is a delightful sea of different setups.
Wandering around the pit area at the start, there was everything from gravel tech, prototype tyres, 3D printed components, and even some distinctly old school setups. As ever we've got behind the scenes access to bring you all the best in tech, and we've also got a gallery of the winners bike on the way too.
Without further ado, and before the mud of northern France has had a chance to fully cake itself onto Lotte Kopecky's race-winning S-Works Tarmac (presumably to be sealed in by the Specialized marketing team forever more), let's get on with it.
Starting at Canyon-SRAM all seems normal. The team were all using the Canyon Ultimate, rather than the more aerodynamic Aeroad, but a closer look at the wheels reveals that some riders were using Schwalbe G-One Speed tyres. These are technically a gravel tyre, but have an extremely low profile tread, and is akin to a large volume file tread in many respects.
The little knobbles you can see on the shoulders here extend the whole way across the tyre. The width was 32c across the board.
The bike with gravel tyres was swiftly whisked away and replaced by one with Schwalbe Pro One tyres. Here there are satellite SRAM shifter blips under the bars so shifting can be achieved while still riding on the tops.
These Pro One tyres in a 32c width plump up well on a Zipp 303 Firecrest rim. The team still opted to go with a hookless setup despite the current discussion about the system's safety issues.
A 3D printed chain keeper, one of many seen in the pits, fully encloses the chain. This is more secure looking than the chain keepers we usually see on the road for riders using a 1X setup.
The slightly less jazzy, but still eye-catching salmon(ish) Aeroad bikes were on the roof just in case.
Over at Lidl-Trek, Koen de Kort was rocking some fresh looking Lidl trainers.
Another chain keeper, this time on Elynor Backstedt's bike. This one is a K-Edge unit, and metal rather than printed plastic.
Elynor Backstedt, aside from the chain keeper, was riding a special edition Trek Domane for the race. Speaking to the team's Support Manager, Koen de Kort, he suggests that soon, like in the men's field, most riders will be on an aero setup. For now though there was a mix of the aero Madone and the more comfortable, endurance-oriented Domane.
While these prototype Pirelli tyres were marked up as 32c, they measured up (with my trusty vernier calipers) at 34.5mm thanks presumably to the wider internal width of the Bontrager Aeolus Pro 49V gravel wheels.
The Domane also allows for a more easy use of a standard stem and round bars, which is often a preference for riders at Roubaix.
At the Arkea-B&B Hotels but the team opted for the all-round Bianchi Specialissima.
The winning bike: Lotte Kopecky's S-Works Tarmac SL8, complete with big tyres and a 1X drivetrain.
The standard Roval Rapide wheels were shod with S-Works Mondo 32c tyres, setup tubeless and with added foam inserts for an additional safety buffer.
Another 3D printed chain keeper, this one sitting slightly further back on the chain than others.
Only the world champion gets the rainbow/oil slick chain wrapped around her 50T chainring.
Normally Kopecky uses the Roval Rapide aero one-piece cockpit, but for this race and this bike she's gone for round bars, complete with thumb-operated shifter blips. The bars, I'm told, are Deda, but wrapped entirely so no logos can be seen. I was also informed that she gets a separate Roubaix bike partially to save messing with her normal bike.
The S-Works Mondo tyre, as well as being wider, doesn't have the cotton sidewalls that the Turbo Cotton does, adding a bit of extra cobble protection too.
An oil slick cassette to match the chain.
The rest of the team were also on the Tarmac as opposed to the Roubaix, and all used the 32c Mondo.
While Kopecky opts for shifters inside the bars, some opted for them on the front, operated by the fingers rather than thumbs.
Cofidis had a decidedly more old school tyre strategy: 30c Michelin tubular tyres glued to Corima wheels.
The teams Look bike was decked out with Look cranksets and Look pedals, unsurprisingly.
White bar tape, especially for Roubaix, is an extremely pro move, and was a rarity unfortunately.
Here's a better look at the tubs, with clear '30' markings on the cotton sidewalls.
Another different chain keeper, this time a Wolf Tooth model on a Movistar bike. Usually these Wolf Tooth keepers are run without the outer plate, but Roubaix calls for extra security, at least in the Movistar camp.
Marianne Vos rode the cobbles to 4th place aboard the Cervelo Soloist, rather than the aero S5 she normally rides.
Curiously, unlike the rest of the team, she used a mixed tyre strategy, with a more puncture resistant Vittoria Corsa Pro Control on the rear...
...and the standard Corsa Pro up front, both mounted to the new Reserve 42/49 wheelset we spotted at Opening Weekend.
Vos also used a Wolf Tooth chain keeper, but a significantly more pared back one to that seen on the Movistar bikes.
Round bars were common at Visma-Lease A Bike, but not totally ubiquitous.
Teams have some mandatory GoPro duties, either mounted under the stem or under the saddle.
Some FDJ-Suez bikes featured the Prologo Dimension saddle that has grippy raised rubber patches on to keep the rider locked in place.
This material has been rolled out to the brand's bar tape, which we saw on many bikes, and claims to offer greater mechanical grip (especially when combined with matching mitts), allowing riders to grip the bars less tightly and therefore reduce fatigue.
Again, 32c tyres, here Continental GP5000 S TR models, were the order of the day.
The Orbea Orca Aero of the Ceratizit-WNT Pro Cycling team has a really great paint job in my opinion. Simple, classy, and well executed without getting too complicated: Chapeau.
The aero credentials of the frameset are clear to see, with barely enough room to fit a cigarette paper between the down tube and the 32c Vittoria Corsa Pro tyres
The red seatpost is a really great finishing touch, and ties the whole bike together.
From a red seatpost to a red bike, this one from the Winspace team belonging to Chinese champion Luyao Zeng.
As well as being a very eye catching bike, it's also significant as Zeng, along with her teammate Xin Tang, is the first Chinese women's rider to race at Paris Roubaix.
Zeng rode with a whopping 54t aftermarket outer chainring.
While Zeng may not have featured at the pointy end of the race, the bike certainly caught my eye.
My heart does go out to the team though: They were on the narrowest tyres of anyone, with 27c Challenge Stradas all round. Given how hard these are to mount (in my experience) my heart also goes out to the mechanics...
Some Roubaix hacks never die - Metal cages grip the bottles better as you can bend them in.
At the Roland-WTW bus there was a cluster of extremely good looking Pinarello Dogmas. One gets so used to seeing these in the Ineos livery it's refreshing seeing it in something different.
The Uno-X squad were all aboard the aero VSRu model.
At the St Michel - Mavic - Auber93 bus the team issue Cannondale SuperSix Evo bikes were kitted out with a more sturdy, and more grippy version of the Michelin Power tyres. I'd also like for it to go on record that St Michel, a biscuit company, is perhaps my favourite sponsor of the whole peloton.
St Michel also rocked metal bottle cages, this time from Specialities TA.
The old 'allen key taped to the bike' trick was markedly absent, but I did still find one example here.
More GoPro action at the UAE Team ADQ bus. This does make me wonder what the aero penalty is viven it's mounted in such a key area.
32c tyres were the norm, but on these Enve wheels the 30c option was plenty plump enough.
The cobbles can rattle more or less anything loose if it starts moving, so a bit of tape in the computer mount saves your head unit flying across a key sector, taking your power numbers with it.
Tape works for some riders, while others at EF used sticky-backed Velcro to stop the rattle.
While Factor has already made the headlines for its Gravel bike, the paintwork of the Human Powered Health team bikes is worthy of showing to the world in my eyes.
Is there anything we've missed? Let us know in the comments below, and stay tuned to Cyclingnews for all the race results, news and features from our team on the ground throughout the classics season.
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