The cobbled monument never disappoints for bike tech. We explored the pits to find all the new gear and interesting adaptations for the cobbles.
Another stunner of a bike was the Trek Madone of Mads Pedersen, who received a special Project One paintjob for Flanders. (Photo: Ties Wijntjes for Velo)
Published April 6, 2026 01:32PM
Where Easter Sunday is a moment of reflection and family gatherings for many, for cyclists it has a very different meaning: it is the day of the Tour of Flanders. The race is beloved by many not only for its vivid racing, but also for its unique bike tech.
One might expect to see the same tech that we’ve spotted at other spring races, but that isn’t necessarily the case. Sure, it is another cobbled classic — but it’s also, depending on whom you ask, the most important. That in itself is often a reason for teams to go above and beyond with their gear. They might even learn a thing or two during the race they can apply to gear choices at future races.
Tech at De Ronde nowadays mainly revolves around making riders as aerodynamic as possible, although it isn’t the only factor taken into consideration. On the cobbles, comfort plays a role as well. And with many climbs on the route, teams will try to save a few grams of weight.
We toured the pits before the start of the Tour of Flanders, to see what weird and wonderful bike tech we could find. Besides a new bike, there might not be very much unreleased tech, but there was still more than enough to see, from little tricks that team mechanics use, to different wheel and tire choices and an excess of aero overshoes. Let’s dig in!
Gallery: Tour of Flanders Tech
Let’s begin with the biggest tech news that we’ve seen over the last weeks in Flanders, which is what appears to be a new Canyon Endurace. (Photo: Ties Wijntjes for Velo)Canyon’s all-road/endurance model takes serious inspiration from the brand’s Aeroad aero model, but the seat tube is much slimmer, to offer more flexibility. (Photo: Ties Wijntjes for Velo)There’s also much more tire clearance, it seems to be more than the previous Endurace’s 35 millimeters. (Photo: Ties Wijntjes for Velo)Another bike that gained a lot of attention was Remco Evenepoel’s Tarmac SL8. (Photo: Ties Wijntjes for Velo)As double Olympic Champion, the bike has a special design with gold all over it. (Photo: Ties Wijntjes for Velo)Even though he runs a 2-by setup, he uses a K-Edge chain catcher. Gold, of course. (Photo: Ties Wijntjes for Velo)Interestingly enough, the Specialized sponsored teams (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe and Soudal Quick-Step) both used different wheel setups. Evenepoel opted for a Roval Rapide Sprint CLX up front. (Photo: Ties Wijntjes for Velo)On the back, he ran a Roval Rapide CLX III. (Photo: Ties Wijntjes for Velo)Some Soudal Quick-Step riders were racing the slightly older Roval Rapide CLX II Team. (Photo: Ties Wijntjes for Velo)We spotted something similar over at UAE Team Emirates, with some riders opting for the ENVE SES 6.7 wheels. (Photo: Ties Wijntjes for Velo)While others – among them a certain Tadej Pogacar – chose to ride the slightly lighter (a whopping 25 grams) and cobble-optimized ENVE SES 4.5. (Photo: Ties Wijntjes for Velo)As the defending champion, Tadej Pogačar got to start with number 1 — something he’ll be able to do again next year. (Photo: Ties Wijntjes for Velo)He was one of different riders to use satellite shifters in the drops. (Photo: Ties Wijntjes for Velo)Something we’re getting used to are these Carbon-Ti chainrings on the bikes of UAE Team Emirates. (Photo: Ties Wijntjes for Velo)Another stunner of a bike was the Trek Madone of Mads Pedersen, who received a special Project One paintjob for Flanders. (Photo: Ties Wijntjes for Velo)We first spotted these new Bontrager Aeolus RSL wheels at Omloop het Nieuwsblad, but they still haven’t been officially launched. (Photo: Ties Wijntjes for Velo)Some Visma-Lease a Bike riders got to use these SL-branded wheels from Reserve. SL stands for Super Light, so those are extra light versions of different existing wheelsets. (Photo: Ties Wijntjes for Velo)Remarkably, they used some tubular glue on the tubeless tires. A representative of the team told us that is to lower the chances of tubeless tires unseating due to hard impact. (Photo: Ties Wijntjes for Velo)To remember when they filled the tires with tubeless latex, they write the dates when they last did that on the wheels. (Photo: Ties Wijntjes for Velo)Another neat little mechanic’s trick over at Lotto Intermarché: they open all the valves to check the tire pressure before the start. Open valves need to be checked, closed valves have been checked. (Photo: Ties Wijntjes for Velo)Most teams nowadays use hot wax for chain lubrication. (Photo: Ties Wijntjes for Velo)But not all, as this oil stain on one of TotalEnergies’ Cube Litening Aero C:68X shows. (Photo: Ties Wijntjes for Velo)Ineos Grenadiers have their transponders tucked away nicely behind the front fork. (Photo: Ties Wijntjes for Velo)They are also one of the few teams that still use the age-old trick of sandpaper in bottle cages to avoid bottles vibrating out of the cages on the cobbles. (Photo: Ties Wijntjes for Velo)Probably the most used tires, were these Continental Grand Prix 5000 S TR. (Photo: Ties Wijntjes for Velo)Another popular tire choice was Vittoria’s Corsa Pro G2 TLR. Most teams were using either 30 or 32 millimeter wide tires. (Photo: Ties Wijntjes for Velo)A standout tire choice was that of Jayco-AlUla, which weren’t using tires from team sponsor Cadex, but rather Vittoria’s Corsa Pro tires. (Photo: Ties Wijntjes for Velo)Equally interesting was XDS Astana’s choice for Continental tires, paired with Vittoria tubeless valves. (Photo: Ties Wijntjes for Velo)Cofidis was the only team who weren’t using SRAM or Shimano groupsets. They’re sponsored by Campagnolo and were running the all-black Super Record WRL 13 groupset. (Photo: Ties Wijntjes for Velo)Another interesting little detail on their bikes was that they used 3D printed derailleur hangers. This looks very much like Silca’s titanium derailleur hangers. (Photo: Ties Wijntjes for Velo)Almost all teams use different ways to attach race numbers to the seatpost, but this one by Groupama-FDJ United was by far the most cleanly integrated. (Photo: Ties Wijntjes for Velo)There’s also the good old zip tie, such as used by Burgos Burpellet BH. (Photo: Ties Wijntjes for Velo)I wonder whether these decals negatively impact the supposed aero benefit from the dimples on the Zipp NSW wheels. (Photo: Ties Wijntjes for Velo)Some teams use stem stickers to provide their riders with a list of all the climbs. EF Education-EasyPost uses it to provide their riders with an overview of feed zones. (Photo: Ties Wijntjes for Velo)Since this season, all bikes are given a GPS-tracking device. It’s an indirect result of the tragic passing of Swiss Muriel Furrer at the 2024 World Championships. (Photo: Ties Wijntjes for Velo)They’re attached to the saddle rails with a simple velcro strap. (Photo: Ties Wijntjes for Velo)Unibet Rose Rockets also give multiple of their riders a GoPro underneath their saddle. (Photo: Ties Wijntjes for Velo)Flemish team Flanders-Baloise use Eddy Merckx bikes. The brand named after one of cycling’s all-time greats is part of Belgian Cycling Factory, which also owns Ridley. (Photo: Ties Wijntjes for Velo)This crank has had to endure some very serious heel rub. (Photo: Ties Wijntjes for Velo)Mathieu van der Poel still uses the ‘old’ Gamechanger instead of the newer Gamechanger 2.0. Although officially this isn’t even a Gamechanger as Canyon is helmet supplier of the team and they simply buy the helmets from Abus. One representative from Canyon previously said he prefers the fit of the old version. (Photo: Ties Wijntjes for Velo)Let’s end with a topic that grabbed my attention at the start: the amount of different types of aerodynamic socks and shoe covers. Even within teams there’s quite some differences. Wout van Aert used shoe covers with an aerodynamic pattern around the calf. (Photo: Ties Wijntjes for Velo)His teammate Matthew Brennan did so too, but his weren’t only black instead of white; they also had a slightly different construction. (Photo: Ties Wijntjes for Velo)And then other riders, such as Per Strand Hagenes, used a combination of aero socks and a cover that only covers the Boa dials. (Photo: Ties Wijntjes for Velo)Mathieu van der Poel also uses aero shoe covers. Notice the distance with the two versions from Nimbl: in this case, the aero pattern extends down to the heel of the shoe. (Photo: Ties Wijntjes for Velo)There were similar differences among UAE Team Emirates riders. Benoît Cosnefroy used aero socks. (Photo: Ties Wijntjes for Velo)Whereas Tadej Pogacar used aero shoe covers, with a latex part covering the shoe. I wonder how effective the aero pattern still is when twisted. (Photo: Ties Wijntjes for Velo)Let’s end things with this slightly controversial clothing choice by Tadej Pogačar, who wore his knee warmers over his bibs. (Photo: Ties Wijntjes for Velo)
