Gravel tech, massive tyres and neat hacks – 2025 men’s Paris-Roubaix tech gallery

Including one clincher setup for old time's sake.

Felix Smith / Our Media

Liam Cahill

Published: April 13, 2025 at 6:29 pm

While Paris-Roubaix bikes are not as wild as they once were, pros still go to great lengths to make the cobbles a little more bearable.

Riders did all sorts, including going over their bike’s frame clearance limits, fitting gravel components, and using non sponsor correct parts.

Here's a detailed breakdown of all we saw on the morning of the race itself.

Check out our tech gallery of the Paris-Roubaix Femmes avec Zwift

32mm tyres are de rigueur

The dynamic duo. The terrible twosome. However you see Mathieu van der Poel and Tadej Pogačar, the first and second placed riders were separated by one over-cooked corner. But in their tyre sizes there was no separating the two. Both riders opted for 32mm tubeless rubber. Van der Poel used Pirelli’s P Zero Race TLR RS in the team edition colour. Liam Cahill / Our Media

Pogacar used the ever popular Continental Grand Prix 5000 S TR. But it must be said that neither rider’s bike was radically different from their usual setup. Liam Cahill / Our Media

Thankfully there was tech interest to be found elsewhere and some riders, like Fred Wright, opted for 34mm Continental Grand Prix 5000 AS TRs. The Londoner told us that this is a setup he knows well, though he admitted the all season tyre feels a little draggy on the rolling opening stages of the race. Liam Cahill / Our Media

The biggest tyres we spotted were on Intermarché-Wanty’s bike. This is a brand new tyre from Hutchinson with Racing Lab and Prototype decals. The team used a mix of sizes, but Taco van der Hoorn went very wide with 35mm front and back. Liam Cahill / Our Media

Van der Hoorn really pushed the clearance on his Cube Litening Aero C:68X. Liam Cahill / Our Media

Gravel gear

Sticking with van der Hoorn’s bike, we saw a smattering of gravel components across the weekend’s races. But the Dutchman’s choice to run a Shimano GRX Di2 rear derailleur made this tech nerd’s heart sing. Felix Smith / Our Media

Tudor riders turned to DT Swiss’ 50mm-deep GRC 1100 gravel wheels for their 24mm inner width. This ballooned their Schwalbe Pro One tyres to the point where light barely passed between the tyre and the fork crown. Liam Cahill / Our Media

Exceptionally neat hacks

Ineos Grenadiers team bus was the place to be if you wanted to see some of the neatest tech on display. A tip of the hat to whichever mechanic installed this Di2 wire so neatly. Liam Cahill / Our Media

Josh Tarling chose a monster 1x chainring, probably for chainline efficiency. But when asked on TV, the Welshman said it was because he was a ‘big dog’. Felix Smith / Our Media

He also chose to swap out his usual Shimano Dura-Ace C50 wheels in favour of Princeton Carbon Works’ Peak 4550. That’s around £4,900 of wheels, right there. Felix Smith / Our Media

Conor Swift, meanwhile, ran a Drag2Zero 1x chainring with a K-Edge chain guide. Liam Cahill / Our Media

And the rest

Ryan Mullen’s job was to position his Red Bull Bora team into the early cobble sectors. As a result, his setup was optimised for the asphalt, and joked the team had decided to put his comfort second. His 28mm Specialized Turbo Cotton setup was the only clincher setup we saw. Liam Cahill / Our Media

Race winner Van der Poel had custom race notes printed on his stem. The little food and drink icons probably give him an optimal fuelling strategy, and it also shows just how much a pro eats in a race. Liam Cahill / Our Media

Overnight rain had us anticipating a few panicked last-minute tyre changes, but pro teams seemingly have better weather apps than we do. This Jayco-Alula rider opted for 32mm Vittoria Corsa Pro Control, though. Liam Cahill / Our Media

And finally, the sweetest thing we've seen on a pro bike all year is this picture on Adrien Petit's top tube, drawn by his kids. Bon courage, indeed! Liam Cahill / Our Media

Liam Cahill

Road and gravel presenter

Liam Cahill is a presenter on BikeRadar’s YouTube channel. He joined the BikeRadar team in 2021 and has amassed eight years of service in the bike industry, reviewing countless cycling products, writing numerous features and presenting award-winning video projects. An ‘international racing career’ saw him pinning a number on in places such as Canada, Italy, France and Wales. He most enjoys presenting videos on pro race tech from events such as the World Gravel Championships, where he’s happy to get among the media scrum for a word with the likes of Mathieu van der Poel, Marianne Vos and Valtteri Bottas. Liam loves riding in the mountains, particularly on a sunny day. You can follow his pursuit of the perfect tiramisu on Instagram.

Height: 173cm
Bike size: 52/54

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32mm tyres are de rigueur

Gravel gear

Exceptionally neat hacks

And the rest

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