Because the 2024 WorldTour street season begins to wind down and the blue touchpaper of the cyclocross season ignites, the autumn at all times looks like one thing of an inflection level.
Of the WorldTour riders, excluding the few that fancy themselves a tilt at Il Lombardia subsequent week, most are on the regular decline into the low season, if they don’t seem to be already there. And people on the nocturnal ‘cross calendar are on the ascendency, little doubt of their ultimate coaching block as racing will get underway, with the primary of the Actual Cross sequence additionally coming subsequent week.
Sandwiched nearly completely between the 2 opposing seasons is a race that bridges the disciplines, the UCI Gravel World Championships.
How ironic, or maybe inevitable, it was then that the boys’s and ladies’s elite races had been gained by two riders which have dominated each side of drop-bar biking? With six cyclocross world titles every, in addition to an inventory of street race titles that cement them each among the many biggest riders of all time, Mathieu van der Poel and Marianne Vos took residence the boys’s and ladies’s titles respectively.
However placing the spectacular racing from each of the Dutch superstars apart for a second – my race workforce colleagues have lined that in nice element already – the streets of Leuven, Belgium had been additionally bustling with an array of recent and attention-grabbing tech.
For instance, earlier than the racing had even begun, Vos had made headlines along with her Cervelo Caledonia race bike. Our eagle-eyed Editor, Peter Stuart, noticed an uncommon hub laced into her wheels, which turned out to be an computerized tyre inflation system from Dutch firm, Gravaa, the identical firm that paired with Visma Lease-a-Bike on the 2023 Paris Roubaix.
Elsewhere, an attention-grabbing new Lapierre – full with entrance suspension and floating seatstays – was noticed in opposition to an FDJ-Suez workforce automotive, whereas in Sunday’s males’s race, Matej Mohorič was noticed utilizing a dropper seatpost.
Not too dissimilar to our Unbound tech gallery, albeit with some added restrictions due to the UCI’s governance, we additionally noticed attention-grabbing paint, intelligent puncture safety hacks, new tyres and extra, so sit again and luxuriate in as we deliver you a premium gallery full of every part that we noticed.
Undoubtedly the largest tech speaking level of the weekend in Leuven was the return of the Gravaa self-inflating tyre stress system that was first unveiled at Paris-Roubaix 2023.
Vos paired the system with Dugast Storm 33mm tubeless cyclocross tyres to assist her take the rainbow jersey in a 3rd self-discipline. Experiences recommend that Kopecky heard the system partaking all through the race, and Vos even perhaps used it to get better from a puncture. An indication of issues to return?
The system was additionally paired with gravel tyres by a few of Vos’ commerce teammates.
Nevertheless, different riders from the Visma-Lease a Bike setup opted in opposition to the progressive tech and went for a tried and examined methodology.
Cans of tyre restore sealant had been a typical sight throughout the bunch. The Italian workforce all had a Vittoria Pit Cease can strapped to their bikes.
Possibly it is consistent with the Spirit of Gravel, however sealant strapped onto Silvia Persico’s customized Colnago G3X with low-cost masking tape actually bugs us.
In typical Colnago trend, the main points on this bike, just like the design on the highest tube storage cowl, actually set it aside.
The shimmering aqua paint job on the Italian’s steed was one thing to behold. It wasn’t our favorite bike from the ladies’s race, although.
Rwanda’s Xav Nirere took that prize with a customized Issue Ostro Gravel that will get higher the longer you cease and stare at it.
Issue have outdone themselves right here with a design that fades from white to inexperienced, with darkish inexperienced leopard print subtly overlaying the body.
A splash of fluorescent yellow to the forks and chain stays makes the bike much more vibrant.
From eye-popping paint jobs to eye-catching unreleased steeds. Cyclingnews’ editor, Peter, noticed this Lapierre gravel bike within the pits on Saturday forward of the ladies’s race.
It is probably that this bike will add to the French model’s Pulsium ALLROAD – which is at present their solely gravel-specific body.
Floating seatstays had been one of many key new options, alongside entrance suspension for these heftier gravel tracks.
We additionally seen a RockShox Reverb AXS XPLR dropper submit fitted to the bike.
The splayed handlebars enable for an aggressive driving place which, alongside the suspension enhancements, suggests to us that this will likely be a motorcycle made for these hardcore off-road challenges.
From one gravel racing machine to a different, Highway World Champion Lotte Kopecky took to the grime tracks and paths of Leuven with probably one of many lightest bikes within the pack.
Kopecky’s Specialised S-Works Crux regarded model new, with the Belgian rider operating a 48/35T 12-speed SRAM Purple groupset for the race.
The Belgian went for the sunshine contact strategy to restore kits, opting only for one CO2 inflator.
Her Crux additionally had an unbranded, sponsor-incorrect saddle fitted, as is pretty widespread among the many girls’s peloton. We imagine this can be a Syncros saddle.
The cockpit is the Roval Rapide Cockpit, designed for the street, however clearly succesful sufficient for gravel.
In the meantime, Mathieu van der Poel rode the gravel-specific Canyon Grail CFR to victory on Sunday.
We love this element of the bike’s precise measurements. The Dutchman was driving on a stack top of 590mm, together with his bike’s attain being 411mm.
MVDP’s Grail CFR can be fitted with Shimano’s Dura-Ace r9270 Di2 as a substitute of the model’s GRX groupset. Intriguingly, the Dutchman has unbranded rims fitted – may they be an unreleased providing from Shimano or maybe from a competitor?
The Dutchman remained loyal to his common Selle Italia Flite Increase Package Carbonio Superflow saddle over the model’s gravel-specific choices.
This Ridley Grifn was measurement XS and likewise featured an aggressive match.
A Deda Zero100 stem and handlebar of the identical model had been used to provide this attacking angle.
Talking of aggressive approaches to gravel racing, these five-spoke Xentis Excessive X wheels are proper up there too!
Alpecin-Deceuninck sports activities physio Tess Rindler-Bachl represented Austria within the girls’s elite race on the eye-catching Canyon.
The Xentis wheelset retails for €1,629 and weighs in at 1100g for the pair.
Simply because gravel bikes get a bit dusty, it does not imply that there isn’t any place for some bling. Tessa Neefjes had carbon-spoked Cadex wheels and a CeramicSpeed cage that each featured accents of gold.
In the meantime sixth-place finisher Connor Swift rode Pinarello’s all-road providing of the Dogma X.
One of many bike’s key USPs is the XStays designed to soak up the vibrations of the rugged gravel terrain whereas guaranteeing the correct amount of stiffness too.
Swift described the X as similar to its street sibling, the F. His body for Gravel Worlds was fitted with a MOST Talon Extremely Gentle built-in handlebar.
Whereas Swift’s bike was an identical in paint job to his commerce workforce’s street bike, Lucinda Model was handled to a recent lick of paint on her Trek Domane.
Fellow Lidl-Trek rider Shirin van Anrooij opted for the brand new Trek Checkmate although – the newest model of the model’s all-out gravel racing mannequin.
The Dutch rider was utilizing a SRAM Purple AXS 1x setup with a Ok-Edge Braze-On chain catcher.
In the meantime, Heidi Franz was driving a customized Issue LS for the ladies’s elite race that used an über light-weight Easton crankset.
Regardless of the high-end, light-weight cranks, Franz wasn’t afraid to go old-school along with her puncture instruments. The American had a tiny tyre plug package strapped to her body, maybe in a bid to avoid wasting weight?
And yep, you noticed that proper. Franz additionally fitted a bell to her bike, telling Cyclingnews “I added a bell to see if it might assist me get previous!”
One other minute element we noticed within the pits was using zip ties by former British nationwide champion Danni Shrosbree.
The plastic cables supplied additional help for her bottle cages as she tackled the uneven terrain.
If Shrosbree’s bottle cage hack was unassuming, her Felt Breed was something however that.
Loads of her parts have seen a season’s price of racing however the Breed body with its graffiti-style decals pops.
Shrosbree opted for the Shimano GRX 48/31T groupset with a 4iiii energy meter. She was additionally driving on Hunt Limitless wheels with 40mm Kenda Alluvium Professional gravel tyres.
This Selle SMP Dynamic saddle was an attention-grabbing pairing for Lander Loockx’s Cannondale SuperSix EVO and its Tour de Tietema workforce livery.
We really feel just like the workforce mechanic may’ve finished a tidier job with {the electrical} tape right here.
Lastly, Reverb Biking Crew’s bikes, constructed round a 3T Racemax body, had a stealthy paint job for starters, however then we seen another intriguing parts.
The bike featured a smooth 3T Extra stem for built-in cable routing.
And the 3T Torno 1X-specific crankset that offers off a reasonably brutalist really feel to say its made in Italy.
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