A proliferation of tubeless tyres, Roubaix set-ups, and a Specialized Mimic
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Jay Thomson was one of the few Dimension Data riders who opted to race on a BMC TMR over a Teammachine (Image credit: Josh Evans)
Without naming names, a former British national champion at the race pulled this prank on Taylor Phinney while the American was signing on(Image credit: Josh Evans)
The three podium bikes from the 2019 Scheldeprijs(Image credit: Josh Evans)
Team Sky's Ian Stannard was another rider who looked to be dialling in his Paris-Roubaix setup(Image credit: Josh Evans)
Trek-Segafredo say their riders have a choice about wearing the new WaveCel helmets from Bontrager and it's clear what the consensus is(Image credit: Josh Evans)
Mads Pedersen is the only Trek-Segafredo rider to continue using a 1X drivetrain setup along with a special chain catcher from K-Edge(Image credit: Josh Evans)
Michael Van Staeyen's (Roompot Charles) Factor O2 Disc(Image credit: Josh Evans)
The entire Vital Concept team raced on Orbea Orca Aero framesets(Image credit: Josh Evans)
The Danish team use Shimano Dura-Ace drivetrain components but opt for Shimano Ultegra brake calipers(Image credit: Josh Evans)
The Riwal Readynez Pinarello Dogma F10(Image credit: Josh Evans)
Gianni Moscon also looked to be on his Paris-Roubaix bike with a thumb shifter on the tops for easy shifting when riding on the cobbles(Image credit: Josh Evans)
Stannard's wide pars are also equipped with satellite sprint shifters on the drops(Image credit: Josh Evans)
Team Sky have added grip tape to the inside of the Elite Vico Carbon bottle cages to add extra bidon security(Image credit: Josh Evans)
Adam Blythe (Lotto Soudal) runs a 150mm, negative 17-degree stem on his Ridley(Image credit: Josh Evans)
Vanmarcke also runs satellite sprint shifters on the handlebar drops(Image credit: Josh Evans)
Sep Vanmarcke has satellite shifters on the underside of his handlebars at the stem(Image credit: Josh Evans)
Edvald Boasson Hagen was another rider using Vittoria's new tubeless tyres(Image credit: Josh Evans)
Katusha Alpecin look to have team-issue red Wahoo Elemnt Bolt computers(Image credit: Josh Evans)
Kittel looks to be using Shimano satellite sprint shifters on the handlebar drops(Image credit: Josh Evans)
Wallonie Bruxelles' Franklin Six raced on the endurance-focused Ridley Fenix(Image credit: Josh Evans)
A look at Kittel's cassette and the new and unusual-looking chain from SRAM's new groupset(Image credit: Josh Evans)
Five-time winner of Scheldeprijs Marcel Kittel ran a 50/37x10-28 gearing setup on the new SRAM AXS 12-speed groupset(Image credit: Josh Evans)
The Belgian Pro Continental squad use tubeless ready Scope wheels(Image credit: Josh Evans)
The Wallonie Bruxelles squad had a mix of tubeless and tubular tyres on top of the team cars ahead of the race(Image credit: Josh Evans)
Cofidis look to cut costs with spare bikes being equipped with mechanical groupsets instead of electronic ones(Image credit: Josh Evans)
A young UAE Team Emirates squad rode on a mix of Colnago V2-R, Concept and C64 framesets at Scheldeprijs(Image credit: Josh Evans)
Israel Cycling Academy are one of a few teams to use Lezyne computers in a market dominated by Garmin and Wahoo(Image credit: Josh Evans)
The De Rosa SK aero frameset used by Israel Cycling Academy was designed by the legendary Italian design house Pininfarina(Image credit: Josh Evans)
Andre Greipel's BH G7 Pro(Image credit: Josh Evans)
Wanty-Gobert were running fluoro yellow decals on the front and white on the back of their Fulcrum Speed 55T wheelsets(Image credit: Josh Evans)
Fabio Jakobsen was first in 2018 and again in 2019(Image credit: Josh Evans)
A Deceuninck-QuickStep mechanic unplugs the Di2 system ahead of the race start(Image credit: Josh Evans)
Team Sunweb utilise a K-Edge TT mount for the unique Cervelo S5 integrated cockpit system(Image credit: Josh Evans)
The Danish team accent their Pinarellos with orange pedals from Speedplay and CeramicSpeed's OSPW system(Image credit: Josh Evans)
Riwal Readynez were another team to be racing with tubeless setups, again on wheels from Scope(Image credit: Josh Evans)
The Dura-Ace rotors usually used by the team were swapped out for these rotors on Breschel's wheel setup(Image credit: Josh Evans)
The tubeless setup utlised Vision Metron 40 wheels(Image credit: Josh Evans)
Following Alexander Kristoff's lead, Education First's Matti Breschel raced Scheldeprijs with tubeless Vittoria Corsa tyres(Image credit: Josh Evans)
The remainder of the EF team raced on the aero Cannondale SystemSix(Image credit: Josh Evans)
Sep Vanmarcke was the only Education First rider to use a Cannondale Synapse as a last chance to dial-in his Paris-Roubaix setup(Image credit: Josh Evans)
54-tooth chainrings were a common site at the start for the flat course from the Terneuzen in the Netherlands to Schoten in Belgium(Image credit: Josh Evans)
Bora-hansgrohe's Marcus Burghardt has been using the female-specific Specialized Power Mimic saddle during the Classics campaign(Image credit: Josh Evans)
Scheldeprijs sits in between the two biggest cobbled Classics on the calendar: the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix. Flanders is notoriously difficult and one of the hardest one-day races of the year, whereas Paris-Roubaix takes the mantle as the most challenging parcours by some distance.
Sandwiched between the two Monuments is Scheldeprijs, which traditionally attracts the top sprinters of the sport, combined with the Classics specialists who are looking for one final race test ahead of the 'Hell of the North' four days later.
This combination leads to a range of bike tech, from 28mm - or more - cobble-specific tyres, double-wrapped handlebar tape and endurance framesets, through to all-out aero machines with 54-tooth chainrings, aero cockpits and softer, 25mm tyres.
Several teams in divisions below the WorldTour have experimented with - and in some cases fully committed to - tubeless tyres for racing as the technology improves and becomes more reliable. Alexander Kristoff (UAE Team Emirates) was one of the first big stars to use the technology at as important a race as the Tour of Flanders and, three days later, an array of star riders have adopted tubeless tyres in what could be a turning point after decades on tubular tyres.
Edvald Boasson Hagen (Dimension Data), Matti Breschel (EF Education First), the Riwal Readynez team and the Wallonie Bruxelles team all raced Scheldeprijs with tubeless set-ups and Cyclingnews understands that it's only a matter of time before more teams adopt the technology.
Team Sky and EF Education First were textbook examples of the Scheldeprijs hybrid of bike set-ups. Sep Vanmarcke rode the endurance-focused Cannondale Synapse with double-wrapped handlebar tape and two pairs of satellite sprint shifter Di2 buttons on the handlebar tops and drops for ease of shifting when on the cobbles. Team Sky's Paris-Roubaix contingent from their Scheldeprijs line-up raced on Pinarello Dogma K10 with more satellite sprint buttons, while their sprint specialists stuck to the more commonly used Pinarello Dogma F10.
Click through the gallery above for a closer look at the tech on display at the 107th edition of Scheldeprijs.
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