Specialized has confirmed that it expects “the bulk” of its sponsored riders to shun the Roubaix bike on the race it was initially designed for, as a substitute utilizing the all-rounder Tarmac SL8 at this weekend’s Paris-Roubaix.
Speaking to a choose group of media, the Specialized product workforce defined that regardless of the Roubaix being ‘born’ on the cobbles of northern France, and naturally sharing its title with the well-known one-day traditional, its sponsored groups as a substitute are anticipated to go for the lighter and extra aero Tarmac SL8, in keeping with our Paris Roubaix tech preview predictions.
While the anticipated dry climate is a part of the explanation, Specialized says that riders had been pondering extra in regards to the struggle for place main into the cobbles than the cobbled sectors themselves.
“Riders are taking a look at different riders like Mathieu van der Poel on a full aero bike and aero cockpit, that they’re keen to take the danger of getting probably the most aero bike as a result of they’re preventing for place earlier than they get to the cobbles,” defined John Cordoba, Product Manager at Specialized.
“The race isn’t actually gained on the cobbles. It could be misplaced on the cobbles, however they’re actually preventing for the place earlier than moving into them.”
This is a sentiment that bears extra weight this yr with the boys’s race taking in a now-infamous chicane on the entry to the Arenberg Forest.
Global advertising and marketing supervisor, Ben Edwards, added that the riders had advised Specialized they “are keen to take slightly little bit of a downgrade [in bump-smoothing tech],” including that “they’ll take care of that on the cobbles, however they have to be in these first 10 riders.”
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With the Tarmac, riders will have the ability to match 32c tyres — anticipated to be the Specialized Mondo mannequin, arrange tubeless with Vittoria tyre inserts — however they’ll lose out on the comfort-enhancing FutureShock suspension system that sits between the pinnacle tube and the stem on the Roubaix.
Despite our personal presumptions right here at Cyclingnews, sponsored riders have by no means been underneath any contractual obligation to make use of the Roubaix at its namesake race. With the bump-smoothing tech it gives and the broader tyre clearance it permits, the Roubaix bike has merely been deemed the quicker selection for the race, given it traverses over 55km of cobbled terrain within the 250-plus kilometre race.
“We don’t drive them to trip something,” confirmed Edwards. “We give them the information, and we take a look at with them to ensure they’re not simply choosing the proper bike, however tyres, wheels and all the pieces.”
Specialized accepts that it’s slower than the Tarmac on easy surfaces, however making an allowance for the entire course and the riders’ methods, the Roubaix has sometimes been the popular selection for Soudal QuickStep, Bora Hansgrohe and Total Energies lately. That is apart from a handful of Bora-Hansgrohe riders in 2023, who selected the Tarmac SL7 as a result of they had been planning to get within the day’s early breakaway.
“They’re making the product determination based mostly on the technique for the day.”
Similarly, SD-Worx opted to make use of the Tarmac SL7 throughout final yr’s ladies’s race. They determined it was the quicker possibility given the ladies’s race tackles fewer complete kilometres of cobbled terrain.
Interestingly, when Specialized was designing the most recent Roubaix SL8, it requested groups what they want from the brand new bike, who in flip requested the engineers to make it considerably extra aerodynamic. The newest Roubaix is technically barely extra aero than the final, the model claims, however it will definitely rejected the groups’ requests because of the perception that it will break the comfort-first trip high quality that the everyday Roubaix buyer is on the lookout for.
It additionally helped that the engineers knew what route the Tarmac SL8 was headed earlier than it launched final yr as a extra compliant and lighter-weight iteration of the model’s all-round racer.
With all this stated, the anticipated dry climate can be enjoying an element within the workforce’s bike selection. They have each bikes out there, however “except they get torrential rain, they are going to be on Tarmac SL8.”