Mathieu van der Poel and Jasper Philipsen’s bikes were propped against a shed in Northern France. And by god did they look good.
Van der Poel and Philipsen Canyon Aeroad CFR-11 (credit: Liam Cahill)
Both bikes were set up for the expected fast speeds of this year’s largely flat opening stages. Each bike sported a set of Shimano Dura-Ace C60 wheels shod with 30mm Pirelli P Zero Race TLR RS tyres.
Van der Poel and Philipsen Canyon Aeroad CFR-08 (credit: Liam Cahill)
The team is sponsored by Shimano, so the Dura-Ace theme continues with the pro-standard 54/40T chainrings and Shimano’s power meter.
Van der Poel and Philipsen Canyon Aeroad CFR-03 (credit: Liam Cahill)
Both riders bucked the trend for shorter cranks with their more traditional 172.5mm sizes.
Shimano seems to have tightened up on cases where sponsored teams got inventive with non-standard chainrings, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see Philipsen use a 56T outer ring on Saturday.
Van der Poel and Philipsen Canyon Aeroad CFR-05 (credit: Liam Cahill)
Out back, a perfectly clean 11-30T cassette and a tidily waxed chain.
Van der Poel and Philipsen Canyon Aeroad CFR-09 (credit: Liam Cahill)
Van der Poel has long been a fan of a white saddle and he continues to use a Selle Italia Flite Boost Kit Carbino with custom decals on the opposite side. Pairing this with black bar tape troubles me, however.
Van der Poel and Philipsen Canyon Aeroad CFR-07 (credit: Liam Cahill)
Poking their way through Philipsen’s tape, though not a feature of Van der Poel’s setup, was a set of Shimano’s sprinter shifters.
Van der Poel and Philipsen Canyon Aeroad CFR-02 (credit: Liam Cahill)
Both riders opt for Canyon’s most aggressive Aeroad stem option, with this Pro Base providing the lowest position. Helpfully, the brand prints the vitals on the side, so no tape measure is needed to see Van der Poel is using a 120mm stem.
Van der Poel and Philipsen Canyon Aeroad CFR-04 (credit: Liam Cahill)
The Alpecin mechanics also included a tidy finishing touch with these small number holders bonded onto the seatpost.
Van der Poel and Philipsen Canyon Aeroad CFR-10 (credit: Liam Cahill)
I must admit, as I gazed longingly at the gold speckle of Van der Poel’s paint, I thought of how such a design would perfectly match a pair of Oakleys I have. If this isn’t reason to buy a new bike, I don’t know what is.
And soon, armed with just a dream and a lot more money, I might be able to order this very bike.
The designs, which show off the possibilities of Canyon’s upcoming custom design programme, hint at Alpecin Deceuninck’s yin and yang approach to winning stages.
Earlier in the day, at the team’s press conference, both riders outlined their ambitions for the race, with Philipsen’s coming early on stage one.
“Yellow is an objective,” the Belgian sprinter admitted. “This is probably the first time the yellow is possible for me. When the Tour started in Brussels in 2018, I was still young. This is a real first opportunity for me to take the yellow jersey. There won’t be many in the future, so it’s an important day on Saturday.”
Van der Poel and Philipsen Canyon Aeroad CFR-06 (credit: Liam Cahill)
The 2024 green jersey winner was, however, pragmatic about the number of opportunities available to the fast men in this year’s race.
“I don’t want to ruin my Tour if I don’t win on Saturday. The Tour lasts 3 weeks and there are lots of opportunities to come, but Saturday is probably the nicest one.”
Van der Poel and Philipsen Canyon Aeroad CFR-12 (credit: Liam Cahill)
Van der Poel, meanwhile, looks set to target punchier, classics-style stages, though he alluded to the Pogacar-sized problem with that ambition.
“The GC contenders who are really good in the Classics race will be up there. They’ll be fighting for position and bonus seconds too, so it will be hard, nervous racing, with a lot of riders who can win a stage like this one.”
Sunday will reveal whether the Alpecin mechanics will need a special yellow Aeroad frameset.