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Mathieu van der Poel powered to his first road race victory of the year at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad this afternoon. The Dutchman pressed on over the top of the Molenberg climb with 45km to go, skilfully avoiding a crash directly in front of him. This action developed into a three-rider winning breakaway, and the former world road race champion eventually left his companions behind to claim a fine solo win.
Van der Poel has been riding Canyon bikes for years, and has a 10-year deal with the German brand. It's not unusual to see a star of Van der Poel's calibre riding various custom-painted bikes, but today's race-winning machine has several interesting points to go over and could be a sign of things to come for two big brands.
First off, Van der Poel was riding a custom-painted frame that was different to his teammates' blue Canyon Aeroad frames. We'll have more of these in our full tech gallery, which will come out tomorrow. This one has a different CFR logo on the top tube, which refers to Canyon's top spec carbon frames.
This frame, and a few others at the race, also had a different rear drive side dropout. It appears the Aeroad has received an update to make the frame SRAM UDH (universal derailleur compatible) hanger compatible, which is a universal standard for all frame hangers. I asked a Canyon spokesperson if this was a new Aeroad, but they told me that this is just a small update to the frame, for now.
Van der Poel's bike was fitted with a Shimano Dura-Ace groupset with 40/55 tooth chainrings, and once again, the prototype Shimano wheels, which I assume are Dura-Ace that he has been seen using since last year, the wheels have carbon spokes, and the hubs are stamped 'Prototype'.
I had a couple of minutes tops before the team took the bike away, and it was moving off as I took the hub picture, but the 'Prototype' stamp is clear to see. Could this be another sign that a new Dura-Ace groupset is indeed on the way?
Van der Poel's Spring Classics account is open; we just might be seeing more of this bike at the head of affairs again this year.
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Pearlescent paint, and a CFR logo on the top tube. (Image credit: Tom Wieckowski)
Dura-Ace cranks, and 40-55 tooth rings for the Omloop winner. Spot those bladed carbon fibre spokes on the prototype wheels. (Image credit: Tom Wieckowski)
Van der Poel appears to have started and finished on the same race bike. (Image credit: Tom Wieckowski)
Canyon integrated Pro handlebar and stem, the Canyon 3D printed computer mount its under the handlebars. (Image credit: Tom Wieckowski)
Pirelli P Zero Race TLR RS tubeles tyres in a 30mm size were fitted (Image credit: Tom Wieckowski)
The Canyon 'Pro' base bar has this agressive, negative stem. (Image credit: Tom Wieckowski)
Image 1 of 2
Here's a regular Aeroad dropout from the race start(Image credit: Tom Wieckowski )
And here is the UDH frame update; the difference is clear to see.(Image credit: Tom Wieckowski )
It's blurry, but these are prototype Dura Ace hubs, and I assume wheels. It's probably fair to assume the next Dura-Ace wheels will have carbon spokes. (Image credit: Tom Wieckowski)
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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