Mathieu van der Poel to race Hell of the North with a special bike - “Its 15-year development is closely tied to Paris-Roubaix"

Mathieu van der Poel will be racing Paris-Roubaix on the Canyon Aeroad CFR Tensor, a bike specifically designed for difficult races such as this, which has been developed alongside Alpecin-Deceuninck and the now two-time winner who is looking to defend his title against the likes of Wout van Aert, Tadej Pogacar and Mads Pedersen this Sunday.

“Its 15-year development is closely tied to Paris-Roubaix," Canyon engineer Lukas Birr said. “More clearance for the tires to increase comfort on the cobbles, a reinforced front fork, and a sealed headset to keep the bike as clean as possible.”

It is a project that has been in constant development, but as a personal sponsor of van der Poel and the Belgian team, Canyon has gone the extra mile to develop what they believe to be the best bike for the brutal cobbled races out there - and one that is also made to withstand the harsh weather conditions, if that happens to be the case.

Van der Poel may be the main favourite to win this race, taking into consideration that bike handling skills and endurance will play a bigger role than the Tour of Flanders where weight and climbing legs proved to be the key to the race's decision, but he will need all the help he can get to win his third Roubaix.

“Roubaix is the ultimate test environment for a bike. Smooth asphalt doesn’t put much strain on a bike, but the cobbles create a lot of stress. Each shock travels through the frame one by one, which can cause components to loosen over the course of the race.”

The end result is a bike that could potentially be next to the top step of the podium once again - if not with van der Poel, potentially with Jasper Philipsen. “We want it to be aerodynamic, but also as lightweight as possible. That way, it’s still strong and robust enough to handle racing over the cobbles of Roubaix.”