The UK's most popular gravel race, the Gralloch, took place at the weekend, with Geerike Schreurs and Lukas Pöstlberger claiming victories in the Elite women's and men's races respectively.
Schreurs is part of the Specialized Off-Road Racing squad and won the women's event on an unknown Specialized gravel bike that we haven't seen before
Gravel racer Ben Thomas took some images of the winning bike post-race, which you can see here. There's also an Instagram video from the Gralloch's page below showing the mystery bike being ridden.
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This latest bike comes hot on the heels of a host of new gravel bikes and tech we spotted at the Traka recently, and we will keep our eyes peeled for more in the run-up to Unbound Gravel, which takes place at the end of the month. Given the proximity to the biggest gravel race of the year it's possible this bike will launch around Unbound, though we will have to wait and see to be sure.
Specialized offers two gravel bikes currently, the Crux and the Diverge. The latest Diverge 4 launched back in September 2025. The Crux has been around in its current form for longer, though it received a UDH frame compatibility update a couple of years ago.
This is certainly a more aero-focused machine, and looks at face value to us like a gravel going Tarmac SL7 frame. Has the Crux, regarded as one of the best gravel bikes around, gone aero?
There are plenty of aero features to be observed here, including the aero seatpost, dropped seatstays, and integrated handlebar and stem. The existing Crux features a round seatpost, some external cabling, and a more traditional frame tube design. This could be a major overhaul if it is a new version.
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Here's Schreurs bike after the race, it was fitted with the recently launched Roval Terra Aero CLX wheels. The overall frame shapes look fairly familiar for a Specialized bike, but this is definitely a new S-Works gravel model. (Image credit: Ben Thomas Coaching)
Front tyre clearance looks healthy. Racers tend to want big tyres at the Gralloch, which is quite rocky. That looks like the aero Roval Rapide road handlebar, too. (Image credit: Ben Thomas Coaching)
The front Roval Terra wheel has a squared off rim profile to boost aerodynamics. The tyres look at least 50mm wide, and appear to be Specialized Pathfinders. (Image credit: Ben Thomas Coaching)
Here's another look at that front clearance, the current Crux has an official max tyre clearance of 47mm, this looks to be larger than that. There's a bit of headroom above the tyres which could allow for a suspension fork, too. (Image credit: Ben Thomas Coaching)
This a cool shot, behind the mystery bike is a Crux - spot the external cabling and two piece bar and stem, and the unreleased mega aero Factor gravel machine in the background, too. (Image credit: Ben Thomas Coaching)
Here's a snap of the rear triangle, note the slightly profiled seat tube. (Image credit: Ben Thomas Coaching)
The seatpost is very different from the round model currently found on the Crux, which won't be as fast as some of the latest aero gravel bikes. (Image credit: Ben Thomas Coaching)
Tom joined the Cyclingnews team in late 2022 as a tech writer. Despite having a degree in English Literature he has spent his entire working life in the cycling industry in one form or another. He has over 10 years of experience as a qualified mechanic, with the last five years before joining Cyclingnews being spent running an independent workshop. This means he is just as happy tinkering away in the garage as he is out on the road bike, and he isn’t afraid to pull a bike apart or get hands-on with it when testing to really see what it’s made of.
He has ridden and raced bikes from an early age up to a national level on the road and track, and has ridden and competed in most disciplines. He has a keen eye for pro-team tech and enjoys spotting new or interesting components in the wild. During his time at Cyclingnews, Tom has already interviewed some of the sport's biggest names including Mathieu van der Poel, Tadej Pogačar and Alberto Contador. He's also covered various launches from brands such as Pinarello, Ridley, Specialized and more, tackled the Roubaix Challenge sportive aboard his own rim-brake Cannondale SuperSix Evo, tested over 20 aero helmets in the wind tunnel, and has created helpful in-depth buying advice relating to countless categories from torque wrenches to winter clothing.
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