No race places more scrutiny on a rider’s equipment than Paris-Roubaix.
The 257km of the Hell of the North serves up more than 50km of brutal pavé which rattles bike and rider to within an inch of their lives.
It’s a race like no other and sees teams pull out the stops to ensure their men arrive at the finish at the sharp end of the peloton, while mechanics have their own tricks of the trade to help cushion the ride. Tyre choice and pressure is also critical to a rider’s success – in part two we dissect the rubber of Roubaix.
But, for now, here’s the race tech we spotted at the start of the 2014 edition of the Queens of the Classics in Compiègne, from the new Lapierre Pulsium ridden by FDJ.fr to Fabian Cancellara’s Trek Domane, and cyclo-cross brakes to custom satellite shifters.
