Mathieu van der Poel has been spotted riding what may be a new Canyon Aeroad.
The Aeroad is the German brand’s flagship aero road bike and its latest incarnation launched in 2020.
First reported by the Dutch website Wielerflits, the Alpecin-Deceuninck rider appears to be on an unbranded bike during a pre-season training ride. The frame features aerodynamic tubing and looks to closely follow the current Aeroad’s silhouette, with a few key differences.
It’s common for pros to test new bikes and equipment at winter training camps, so they can build familiarity with them before the start of the racing season. In fact, just today we reported on the first glimpse of what could be the new Specialized Tarmac SL8.
The new frame looks to be unpainted, perhaps because Canyon is testing different carbon layups before settling on a final design following rider feedback, or simply because it’s a pre-production model.
While there’s not a night-and-day difference, look closely and the bike van der Poel is riding appears to sport a handful of differences over the current Aeroad.
It looks to have a revised head tube profile, with some aero profiling at the base of the tube where it meets the fork crown. It also appears to be using smaller, possibly even round spacers for the steerer tube.
When comparing images of the new and existing bikes, it looks as if the seatstays have possibly been dropped a touch lower, but we’re splitting hairs at this early stage. We’ll need to see more of the bike to make a definitive judgement.
Elsewhere, the seat tube may also have received some further attention, particularly at the clamp area. Some riders faced issues with the existing Aeroad’s seatpost wearing, prompting Canyon to release a redesigned seatpost mid-model cycle.
The Aeroad is one of three main road bikes in the Canyon range, sitting alongside the Endurace for comfort-oriented rides and the Ultimate as its lightweight all-rounder, also used by some of Canyon’s pro riders.
The latest Endurace was launched in January 2022 and the Ultimate in September 2022, so it would make sense for this Aeroad to be a new model given it’ll be heading towards its fourth year of production.
The latest Endurace and Ultimate updates saw increased tyre clearances, to 35mm and 32mm respectively.
The current Aeroad accepts a 30mm tyre, which is already fairly generous for a race bike – but, given many of the latest aero bikes, such as the Cervelo S5, offer clearance for even wider rubber (34mm in the case of the S5), Canyon may update this area, too.
That’s what we know so far. While the bike doesn’t look to be a radical departure aesthetically, we expect Canyon has likely focused on refining the stiffness, weight and aerodynamic performance of the frame, as we’ve come to expect from just about every top-tier launch.
Canyon told us it didn't "have any details to share, except to confirm that it isn’t a current Aeroad." We will bring you more details if and when we get them.
