Plus some bonus hacks from the UAE Team Emirates-XRG recon ride
(Image credit: Will Jones)
Paris-Roubaix is the Queen of the Classics for a reason. While it’s only a single day race for both the men and the women, the fact that the women's race on Saturday means both genders do their recon rides at the tail end of the week before the racing. This gives us ample time to see what they’re up to but also extends what for fans at home may be an 8-hour affair into nigh on a week for us journalists.
This morning (Friday, if you’re reading this later on) we got a tip-off that Tadej Pogačar and his UAE Team Emirates-XRG teammates were going to do a final recon of the cobbles, from the Arenberg Forest onwards, so, with barely five minutes to brush our teeth, wolf down a chocolate-filled brioche, and slap on some créme du soleil, we leapt out the door and hightailed it over to the forest ourselves.
Luckily for you keen tech nerds, I managed to get a look at the UAE bikes, including Pogačar's, before they set off to see what they’ve modded - if anything - for the roughest sectors of the race, plus we got a look at the team on some cobbles, before grabbing them at the bus at the velodrome after.
Given I shot Pogačar's bike less than a week ago after he won the Tour of Flanders, it's interesting to see how he's changed things for the rougher stones here in France. Notably, none of the team are using the Y1RS Colnago aero bike for Roubaix, we believe the riders prefer the slightly more forgiving geometry of the V4Rs
There will of course be full tech galleries going live from both the men’s and women’s races, so treat this as but an amuse-bouche before the main events tomorrow and Sunday.
At a glance, against the team bus, you'd be forgiven for thinking it was exactly the same setup he used as on Sunday at Flanders, but there are some subtle tweaks that are quite interesting. (Image credit: Will Jones)
The first thing I noticed was these squares of foam under the hoods on the back of the levers. Speaking to the mechanics I was told it's to stop the levers rubbing the top of Pogačar's fingers when he's on the hoods - this is something I noticed when riding on the Flandrian cobbles, and it's good to see a neat solution to the issue. (Image credit: Will Jones)
He still has his usual sprint shifters nestled under the shifter hood clamps - These should be useable from both the hoods or in the drops without having to loosen a few fingers to reach the ones on the levers. (Image credit: Will Jones)
I know you're all dying to know what size tyres he's using, so I'll put you out of your misery... They're 32c width, but they look like they've come up larger on the Enve SES 4.5 rims. There ain't much room between the rear tyre and the front derailleur. (Image credit: Will Jones)
165mm cranks, as always, paired to Carbon-Ti carbon chainrings. (Image credit: Will Jones)
Unlike at Flanders, Pogačar chose to wrap his bars all the way to the stem for Roubaix. (Image credit: Will Jones)
Here's his 3D printed Fizik saddle. (Image credit: Will Jones)
There is room to go wider up front with the tyres, but it seems like 32c is as big as he wants to go. (Image credit: Will Jones)
The trademark Hulk sticker remains, as always. (Image credit: Will Jones)
Pristine and clean, though it certainly won't stay that way even on a relatively short recon ride. (Image credit: Will Jones)
Each team bike has lightweight aluminium top cap torx bolts from Carbon-Ti. (Image credit: Will Jones)
On the team car roof, I also spotted that the thru-axles have been replaced with aftermarket ones too, again from Carbon-Ti. We also spotted these being used at Opening Weekend. (Image credit: Will Jones)
Looks like someone got away with it here - This could have been a nasty blowout if the cut went any deeper. (Image credit: Will Jones)
While Pogacar uses aftermarket Framesandgear derailleur hangers, most riders were on the stock option, though I'm surprised that cable hasn't been tidied up a little more. (Image credit: Will Jones)
An outlier in the team, Colombian rider Juan Sebastián Molano opted for round bars, whereas the rest of the squad were using the Enve integrated cockpit. (Image credit: Will Jones)
António Morgado's shifter hoods might do well to stay out of sight of the commissaires come Sunday morning, they look a little aggressive (Image credit: Will Jones)
The whole team use CarbonTi chainrings, despite Shimano being an official sponsor. Only Pogačar gets a set with his own logo laser cut out of them though. (Image credit: Will Jones)
Metal K-Edge computer mounts were the order of the day for nearly everyone (Image credit: Will Jones)
Except for Tim Wellens, who was using this 3D printed, aero mount for his Wahoo. Rather than twisting the computer into place you place the computer in, and twist a tab at the bottom to lock it. (Image credit: Will Jones)
Wellens' sprint shifters weren't done quite so neatly as Pogačar's. (Image credit: Will Jones)
The very rangy Mikkel Bjerg was running a pretty high stack for his front end. (Image credit: Will Jones)
The angle does make it look bigger, but it's a 32c still here. (Image credit: Will Jones)
The UAE press officers and Florian Vermeersch check in on the Cyclingnews Instagram to see all the latest updates from the race. (Image credit: Will Jones)
And to finish, here's Nils Politt. He was off the back in recon, but he's already come 2nd in 2019 so don't count him out. (Image credit: Will Jones)
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Will joined the Cyclingnews team as a reviews writer in 2022, having previously written for Cyclist, BikeRadar and Advntr. He’s tried his hand at most cycling disciplines, from the standard mix of road, gravel, and mountain bike, to the more unusual like bike polo and tracklocross. He’s made his own bike frames, covered tech news from the biggest races on the planet, and published countless premium galleries thanks to his excellent photographic eye. Also, given he doesn’t ever ride indoors he’s become a real expert on foul-weather riding gear. His collection of bikes is a real smorgasbord, with everything from vintage-style steel tourers through to superlight flat bar hill climb machines.
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