Mitchelton-Scott recently switched tyre sponsors to Pirelli and blacked out the manufacturers on the tyres used for stage 9 Josh Evans/Immediate Media
As with Paris-Roubaix back in April, LottoNL-Jumbo used Shimano Dura-Ace 9000 series wheels for the cobbles Josh Evans/Immediate Media
Peter Sagan raced the stage on a special Sagan Collection S-Works Roubaix equipped with rim brakes rather than the consumer version, which is available as disc brake only Josh Evans/Immediate Media
The Astana team switched out its regular Argon 18 Galium Pro bikes for different framesets but ran the same spec exluding the 28mm tyres Josh Evans/Immediate Media
The 28mm tubulars used by Astana had a file-like tread profile Josh Evans/Immediate Media
Because of the flat parcours, several teams chose to run close gearing on their front chainrings with 53/44 a common combination Josh Evans/Immediate Media
As with all Tour de France stages, bikes were being checked by the UCI ahead of the stage for technological fraud Josh Evans/Immediate Media
Former Paris-Roubaix winner John Degenkolb and his Trek-Segafredo teammates used Trek Domane Disc bikes for the stage Josh Evans/Immediate Media
Trek-Segafredo paired Bontrager Aeolus 4 XXX wheels with 28mm Vittoria Corsa Control tyres Josh Evans/Immediate Media
A closer look at the tread profile on the Vittoria Corsa Control tyres Josh Evans/Immediate Media
Jasper Stuyven (Trek-Segafredo) has Classics pedigree Josh Evans/Immediate Media
Michal Kwiatkowski and his Team Sky teammates switched from their Pinarello Dogma F10 bikes to K10-S bikes that feature electronic suspension Josh Evans/Immediate Media
Team Sky also switched from its usual Continental tyres to the legendary FMB Paris-Roubaix handmade tubulars Josh Evans/Immediate Media
Jonathan Castroviejo's Pinarello Dogma K10 Josh Evans/Immediate Media
Geraint Thomas' bike was equipped with 27mm FMB tyres Josh Evans/Immediate Media
Many teams switch to older style metal bottle cages that can be bent in for a more secure fit on the cobbles Josh Evans/Immediate Media
BMC Racing was another team to use Vittoria Corsa Control tyres Josh Evans/Immediate Media
Instead of racing on the yellow BMC Teammachine Greg Van Avermaet has been seen on for the past few stages, Van Avermaet began the race on his grey and gold frameset Josh Evans/Immediate Media
BMC Racing switched out its Elite Vico Carbon bottle cages for the more secure Elite Cannibal cages, lined with grip tape for extra security Josh Evans/Immediate Media
Direct Energie raced on 28mm Hutchinson tyres Josh Evans/Immediate Media
Mark Cavendish and his Dimension Data teammates used Cervelo R3 framesets for the stage Josh Evans/Immediate Media
Cavendish's chain slipped during the stage 8 sprint and he has been known to prefer using a Shimano crankset over the team sponsor's offering from Rotor Josh Evans/Immediate Media
Dimension Data used 28mm Continental Competition RBX tyres Josh Evans/Immediate Media
Cavendish looked to double-wrap his handlebars and went all the way to the stem for additional comfort Josh Evans/Immediate Media
Cavendish also ran satellite shifters on the handlebar tops for ease of gear switching when riding over the cobbles Josh Evans/Immediate Media
Dimension Data is another team to use Elite Ciussi bottle cages Josh Evans/Immediate Media
As well as satellite shifters on the top of his bike, Cavendish ran his usual sprint shifters on the handlebar drops Josh Evans/Immediate Media
The 28mm tyres left little clearance on the framesets and could've been more of a problem on a wet and muddy stage Josh Evans/Immediate Media
The majority of Bora-Hansgrohe raced on special rim brake versions of the Specialized Roubaix frameset Josh Evans/Immediate Media
Bora-Hansgrohe used S-Works Turbo Hell of the North tubulars in the 28mm variant Josh Evans/Immediate Media
The future shock suspension system on the Specialized Roubaix has a lock-out switch for comfort and stiffness on cobbles and asphalt respectively Josh Evans/Immediate Media
It is understood Team Sky brought close to 50 volunteers (in the fluro yellow T-shirts) to line the road with spare wheels and food over the sectors Josh Evans/Immediate Media
Cofidis is another team to double-wrap its handlebars Josh Evans/Immediate Media
Cofidis looked to attach rim tape to its bottle cages for extra security Josh Evans/Immediate Media
Lotto-Soudal used a mix of Ridley Noah and Helium framesets for the stage Josh Evans/Immediate Media
Like the majority of teams, Lotto-Soudal opted for 28mm tubulars Josh Evans/Immediate Media
Andre Greipel and his Lotto-Soudal teammates used C-Bear ceramic bearings on their Ridley bikes Josh Evans/Immediate Media
Some Movistar riders ran 28mm Continental Competition in the PTX variant Josh Evans/Immediate Media
Other Movistar riders opted for the RBX variant of the Continental Competition tubular Josh Evans/Immediate Media
Aero cockpits were wrapped to the stem, with comfort the priority over aerodynamics Josh Evans/Immediate Media
Daniele Bennati had a custom badge on his handlebars commemorating the 2018 Tour de France Josh Evans/Immediate Media
A few of the AG2R La Mondiale riders used CHPT3 edition Factor O2 framesets, which were first seen at Paris-Roubaix back in April Josh Evans/Immediate Media
Alexander Kristoff's custom-painted Colnago V2-R Josh Evans/Immediate Media
Here you can see just how close the chainring sizes are, with the inner chain ring barely visible Josh Evans/Immediate Media
UAE Team Emirates used all-black 28mm Vittoria Corsa Control tyres Josh Evans/Immediate Media
Dan Martin ran his usual Colnago V2-R frameset but was another rider to double-wrap his handlebars Josh Evans/Immediate Media
Pro Continental team Fortuneo-Samsic was another team to use Elite Ciussi bottle cages for the race Josh Evans/Immediate Media
Fortuneo-Samsic used BH Ultra Light framesets for the stage Josh Evans/Immediate Media
Double-wrapping handlebars can be difficult to have a neat finish Josh Evans/Immediate Media
LottoNL-Jumbo was another team to adopt satellite shifters on the handlebar tops Josh Evans/Immediate Media
Due to saddle position this data transmitter was taped to the seatpost for added security over the rough cobbles Josh Evans/Immediate Media
Groupama-FDJ is another team on Continental Competition RBX tyres in 28mm width Josh Evans/Immediate Media
After using a Merida Reacto for the majority of the race so far, Nibali switched to a Merida Scultura for stage 9 Josh Evans/Immediate Media
Vincenzo Nibali ran a mechanical version of the Shimano Dura-Ace groupset for the stage Josh Evans/Immediate Media
Using a mechanical groupset can prevent accidental changes when racing over the cobbles Josh Evans/Immediate Media
Nibali ran an 11-28 cassette Josh Evans/Immediate Media
Up front, Nibali opted for 54/44 chainrings Josh Evans/Immediate Media
Wanty Groupe-Gobert marked each bike with the desired tyre pressures for the stage with Timothy Dupont opting for 5.0 bar front and rear (around 72 psi) Josh Evans/Immediate Media
Marco Minaard ran 4.5 bar at the front and 4.8 bar at the back Josh Evans/Immediate Media
Vincenzo Nibali's Merida Sculture for stage 9 of the Tour de France Josh Evans/Immediate Media
Teams were prepared with plenty of spare wheels for the stage Josh Evans/Immediate Media
Tom Dumoulin ran 4.1 bar at the front and 4.3 bar at the rear (around 59 psi and 62 psi, respectively) Josh Evans/Immediate Media
Dumoulin also had satellite shifters on the front of the tops of his handlebars Josh Evans/Immediate Media
Team Sunweb swapped out its Shimano R9100-P cranksets for last year's Dura-Ace 9000 cranksets equipped with Pioneer power meters Josh Evans/Immediate Media
An EF-Drapac mechanic double-checks tyre pressures with a digital pressure gauge ahead of the stage Josh Evans/Immediate Media
Every EF-Drapac rider looked to have double-wrapped their handlebars with a mechanic saying 'We've gone full 'Roubaix'" ahead of the stage Josh Evans/Immediate Media
EF-Drapac used the more endurance focused Cannondale Synapse framesets for the race Josh Evans/Immediate Media
Rigoberto Uran used a Di2 climbing switch on the centre of his handlebars Josh Evans/Immediate Media
Uran's compact handlebars with the double-wrapped bars Josh Evans/Immediate Media
EF-Drapac ran 30mm Vittoria Corsa Control tyres Josh Evans/Immediate Media
Fernando Gaviria's cockpit on his S-Works Tarmac Josh Evans/Immediate Media
Continental and FMB tyres were used by Mitchelton-Scott for the stage Josh Evans/Immediate Media
Philippe Gilbert's S-Works Tarmac for stage 9 of the Tour de France Josh Evans/Immediate Media
Some of the Quick-Step Floors riders opted for S-Works Roubaix framesets for the stage Josh Evans/Immediate Media
28mm S-Works tyres were used by Quick-Step Floors Josh Evans/Immediate Media
Tom Skujins was another rider with satellite shifters on his handlebar tops Josh Evans/Immediate Media
The Trek Domane features Trek's IsoSpeed damping system for improved comfort Josh Evans/Immediate Media
Richie Porte's handlebars were double-wrapped for the stage but the Australian didn't make the first sector after crashing out Josh Evans/Immediate Media
Porte's brake caliper was also left open to allow adjustment during the stage Josh Evans/Immediate Media
Andre Greipel had hand-written course notes on his stem Josh Evans/Immediate Media
Greipel ran 28mm tyres Josh Evans/Immediate Media
Stage winner John Degenkolb arrives at sign-on ahead of the stage Josh Evans/Immediate Media
Romain Bardet rode the stage aboard a CHPT3 edition Factor O2 but the Frenchman's day was littered with mechanicals Josh Evans/Immediate Media
Sylvain Chavanel was one of several riders who taped their wrists up for the stage in an attempt to cope with the vibrations of the cobbles Josh Evans/Immediate Media
Classics specialist Sep Vanmarcke arrives at sign-on ahead of the stage Josh Evans/Immediate Media
Wout Poels' Pinarello Dogma K10 featured the HiRide rear suspension system Josh Evans/Immediate Media
Alejandro Valverde also taped up his wrists Josh Evans/Immediate Media
Egan Bernal ran additional brake levers on the tops of his handlebars Josh Evans/Immediate Media
Chris Froome crashed during the race but managed to finish in the lead group covered in dust Josh Evans/Immediate Media
The ninth stage of an intense opening first part of the Tour de France included 15 sectors and over 22 kilometres of the northern French cobbles, with the stage weaving its way from Arras Citadelle to a stone's throw from the famous Roubaix velodrome.
Expected and welcomed during the one-day Classics in the spring, asking mountain and GC specialists who weigh 60 kilograms to battle the infamous cobbles is another question altogether.
BMC Racing's overall GC hopeful in Richie Porte crashed out with a suspected broken collarbone before the race had hit the first sectors, the crash a likely result of the nerves and tension within the peloton.
Romain Bardet (AG2R La Mondiale) and Rigoberto Uran (EF Education First-Drapac) suffered time losses for multiple mechanicals and a crash, respectively.
Romain Bardet rode the stage aboard a CHPT3 edition Factor O2 but the Frenchman's day was littered with mechanicals Josh Evans/Immediate Media
Ahead of the stage start, a mechanic for EF-Drapac said to BikeRadar that the team had 'gone full-Roubaix' for the stage, with the American-registered squad riding its endurance-focused Cannondale Synapse framesets, which are more compliant than its other race-focused SuperSix or SystemSix framesets, alongside 30mm wide Vittoria Corsa Control tyres and double-wrapped handlebar tape all-around for the team.
Double wrapped handlebar tape was a common feature with every rider on the start line of the stage, with some riders also opting to tape their wrists and fingers in an attempt to reduce the vibrations from the ancient roads.
Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain-Merida) has ridden the majority of the opening stages of the race aboard a custom-painted Merida Reacto but for stage 9 opted for the lighter and less aerodynamic Merida Scultura.
After using a Merida Reacto for the majority of the race so far, Nibali switched to a Merida Scultura for stage 9 Josh Evans/Immediate Media
Nibali's Scultura was set up almost identically to how the multiple Grand Tour winner had the bike setup for the Tour of Flanders earlier in the year and interestingly used a mechanical Shimano Dura-Ace R9100 groupset.
The majority of the peloton stuck with electronic groupsets for the stage, but by using a mechanical groupset Nibali reduced the risk of accidental gear changing over the rough cobbles.
While EF-Drapac opted for 30mm tyres, the majority of the peloton ran 28mm tyres and almost every team switched to more robust versions of the tyre brands they normally use for racing.
Team Sky swapped out its usual Pinarello Dogma F10 race bikes for the cobble-specific Dogma K10 models, which feature HiRide rear suspension systems for a more compliant rear end of the bike.
Click or swipe through the extensive gallery above for a closer look at the tech on display for stage nine of the 2018 Tour de France.
