Some Specialized-sponsored riders at Paris-Roubaix rolled out on as-yet unseen Specialized Mondo tyres - an apparent reboot of a cobbled-orientated tyre sold by the brand in the late 2000s.
The tyres were being used by Specialized's priority sponsored athletes such as Peter Sagan (TotalEnergies) and potential contenders like Kasper Asgreen (Soudal-QuickStep).
Like Specialized’s other top-end tyres, the Mondo uses Gripton Compound, the T2/T5 rubber compound deployed on the S-Works Turbo tyre, but doesn’t have a visible nod to the Blackbelt Kevlar puncture protection used on the S-Works Turbo and Turbo RapidAir.
The tyres also use the 2Bliss Ready (2BR) system. Those various high-end features, but without the Blackbelt Puncture protection, could lead us to speculate that these tyres are lighter than the S-Works Turbo tyres, which weigh in at 200g per tyre (in a 24mm width).
The width of the tyres was not obvious from the tyre-wall exterior, but we would estimate the tyres seen were in a width of 30 or 32mm, with a tread pattern that bears some resemblance to the S-Works Turbo tyres.
Given the profile of riders using the prototype tyres, we can only assume they present a new flagship offering, presumably being tested at Paris-Roubaix, where durability, suppleness and low rolling resistance at lower pressures will be prized by riders.
A mechanic for Bora-Hansgrohe explained that the tyres had already been used in the Classics season, presumably previously not branded or marked in order to conceal Specialized’s initial field testing.
When asked about the new tyres, Specialized replied that all they could confirm is that the tyres fell within the brand’s ‘Project Black’.
"Specialized relies on feedback from professional athletes in both developing and testing advanced pre-production products in real-world applications," Specialized’s initial reply outlined.
"With this top-level feedback, some of these design elements and products eventually show up in future retail product offerings. We call this Project Black."
The brand has often used major races as platforms to launch new products, showcasing their Project Black, subsequently S-Works Turbo, tyres at Paris-Roubaix in 2022, and prior to that launching the S-Works Turbo RapidAir tubeless tyres at the Tour de France in 2019.
