At the London Cycle Show Tom Boonen’s Paris-Roubaix 2008 winning Specialized Roubaix SL2 was being proudly displayed. A poke around gave RCUK the chance to spot some of the mods required for the challenging cobbles that make the race famous.

Left Lots of bar tape to reduce discomfort on the cobbles Right Clearly a San Marco Regal saddle in disguise

Left Tom needs a long stem to get the right setup Right That’s a TA 46 inner chainring, with a stock 53 outer chainring

Left Tubular tyres are the order of the day Right Zertz inserts in the shapely seatstays

Left Roubaix SL2 gets a 1 3/8″ lower race Right The stickers might say these are Roval wheels, but they’re clearly not…