Deep wheels, long stems, aero bars, and single chainrings for the first monument of the season
(Image credit: Stephen Farrand)
While the early season races are certainly of interest, especially with all the tech we saw at Opening Weekend, nothing signals the start of the racing season quite like the first monument of the year, Milan-San Remo. At over 300km long it's a hefty undertaking, but as the famous adage goes: "It's the easiest to finish and the hardest to win".
Unlike races like Paris-Roubaix, or the Tour of Flanders, where the action is peppered throughout, at Milan - San Remo the real action almost always takes place over the final two climbs of the Cipressa and the Poggio. They're not overly long, or overly steep, so no need for the best lightweight bikes. Moreover, there are hundreds of kilometres of build-up beforehand, where saving every last watt counts. That, combined with a flat finish that often comes down to a sprint, means riders tend to opt for the best aero road bikes for the day.
We managed to grab a few snaps before the start of the race to see what setups the pros were running ahead of such a long day in the saddle.
Kicking off with UAE Team Emirates, and hot favourite Tadej Pogacar, who opted for lace up DMT shoes to save weight, along with aero socks (Image credit: Stephen Farrand)
Not aero, that we know of yet, but he was also wearing a new unreleased set of Scicon sunglasses (Image credit: Stephen Farrand)
While some UAE riders opted for the integrated Colnago cockpit, others went for a two-piece ENVE bar and stem combo (Image credit: Stephen Farrand)
The aero top cap of the new Colnago V4Rs houses a multi-tool, though we expect this has been removed to save weight (Image credit: Stephen Farrand)
Also hinted at during the V4Rs launch was this aero Wahoo mount, claimed to save 0.75 Watts. We didn't see Pogacar using it in the finale, but this is suspected to be down to a bike swap during the race (Image credit: Stephen Farrand)
Here it is with the computer installed; everything is flush and smooth (Image credit: Stephen Farrand)
The riders seem to be using ENVE wheels rather than the mystery, debadged ones we've seen them on recently (Image credit: Stephen Farrand)
Pogacar gets a personalised saddle; only fitting for a 2x Tour de France champ (Image credit: Stephen Farrand)
Tubeless Continental GP5000 S TRs were mounted to the ENVE wheels. A middle ground between the new Continental GP5000 tyres for TT and wet weather uses. The white patch on the white fork leg is thanks to the section of inner tube usually housing the race timing chip. Note the blacked-out info next to the '5000' logo (Image credit: Stephen Farrand)
Over with the Ineos Grenadiers, Filippo Ganna had a relatively normal cockpit. He also wore a skinsuit, the only race he'll apparently use one for all season. Given his podium place, he may well reconsider this though (Image credit: Stephen Farrand)
50mm deep Dura-Ace wheels seems to hit the sweet spot for Ganna, along with 28mm GP5000 S TR tyres (Image credit: Stephen Farrand)
No aero bike to switch to for TotalEnergies, the Tarmac SL7 is the only race bike for Specialized sponsored teams (Image credit: Stephen Farrand)
Likewise for the riders from Soudal-Quickstep. Interestingly Julian Alaphilippe still opts for round bars despite the aero disadvantage (Image credit: Stephen Farrand)
Thanks to a small stem and a very long race, his race notes are on the top tube rather than the stem (Image credit: Stephen Farrand)
Kasper Asgreen instead opts for a more aero cockpit (Image credit: Stephen Farrand)
Here we have another rider opting for a hybrid aero setup of a two piece cockpit, but an aero handlebar (Image credit: Stephen Farrand)
Deep section Roval Rapide wheels keep the team rides at race pace for fewer Watts (Image credit: Stephen Farrand)
Over at Trek Segafredo, Jasper Stuyven opted to run his Trek Madone with a single front chainring and a chain keeper. Apparently, Mads Pederson wanted to, but Sram don't make a chainring big enough for him #ProRiderProblems (Image credit: Stephen Farrand)
The K-Edge chain keeper clamps to the front derailleur mount (Image credit: Stephen Farrand)
The large bottom bracket area is enlarged to be both stiffer and more aerodynamic (Image credit: Stephen Farrand)
The rear hole of the Madone is there to shape the airflow for better aerodynamics (Image credit: Stephen Farrand)
Bonmtrager Aeolus RSL wheels shod with Pirelli P Zero Race tyres. From the short valve extension these don't look tubeless, though his teammates wheels in the background do appear to be so (Image credit: Stephen Farrand)
The rear wheel release on the Aerod isnt hugely aero (Image credit: Stephen Farrand)
It appears eventual winner Matthieu van der Poel had been using the new lightweight, 17g 3D printed computer mount from the new Ultimate (Image credit: Stephen Farrand)
Here we get yet another sneak peek at the new Vittoria Corsa Pro tyres, mounted to a Dura-Ace C60 wheels (Image credit: Stephen Farrand)
EF Education-EasyPost also seemed to be on a more secretive, de-badged version of the tyre on Vision Metron wheels. Interestingly, despite the LAB71 paint, these framesets are the second-tier Hi-Mod version of the new Cannondale SuperSix Evo(Image credit: Stephen Farrand)
Aero Vision Metron ACR bars, and a multi-purpose Wahoo computer mount feature here, along with a computer shroud in team colours (Image credit: Stephen Farrand)
A 54/40t FSA chainset, prime for a fast, relatively flat race with a tailwind (Image credit: Stephen Farrand)
We didn't catch which rider was running this stem, but it's perhaps the longest we've seen in the pro ranks for a while. It's got to be 150mm or 160mm (Image credit: Stephen Farrand)
Similarly big chainrings were seen on board the Jayco AlUla team bikes, but Dura Ace, rather than FSA (Image credit: Stephen Farrand)
If the parcours was a saw blade you'd be chopping away for hours without much luck (Image credit: Stephen Farrand)
De Lie gets a bull... We don't know if Lotto-Dstny will be riding the Tour of China, but if he nabs an incredible, against-all-odds stage win there be sure to check back in for the inevitable 'Bull in a China shock' headline (thank you very much!) (Image credit: Stephen Farrand)
Looks to us like black walled Corsa Pro tyres on another team bike too, on some mid depth DTSwiss wheels (Image credit: Stephen Farrand)
Movistar also opted for the middle ground GP5000 S TR, here on Zipp 353 NSW wheels (Image credit: Stephen Farrand)
Team DSM are also using older, more secretive Corsa Pro tyres (Image credit: Stephen Farrand)
Their Scott Foil aero bikes have a very tidy, integrated stem arrangement (Image credit: Stephen Farrand)
Most of the Jumbo-Visma team opted for a 2x setup (Image credit: Stephen Farrand)
But Wout van Aert went for a single front chainring, and aero Speedplay pedals (Image credit: Stephen Farrand)
Curiously his chain keeper doesn't surround the whole chain, just the top to stop it from bouncing. It seems a more aero solution than the K-Edge of Stuyven (Image credit: Stephen Farrand)
63mm deep Reserve wheels, and another set of Corsa Pro tyres on the Jumbo team bikes, at the rear... (Image credit: Stephen Farrand)
...and a shallower 52mm option up front (Image credit: Stephen Farrand)
The Factor Ostro VAM bikes of Israel Premier Tech are aero optimised already... (Image credit: Stephen Farrand)
...and couples with 60mm deep Absolute Black wheels, shod with Maxxis tyres they're clearly prioritising wind-cheating (Image credit: Stephen Farrand)
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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.
