Gallery: Mathieu van der Poel’s Unreleased Canyon Endurace

Over the last decade, the classics have become more and more the domain of all-out aero setups. So when Alpecin-Premier Tech started the Belgian classics aboard a new aero-looking bike, one might have thought it was a new Aeroad. However, it is actually a new Canyon Endurace that some riders were racing in the Tour of Flanders this past weekend.

Mathieu van der Poel opted to use the new Endurace for the E3 Saxo Classic, which he won on the new bike. However, during In Flanders Fields (formerly known as Gent-Wevelgem) he switched back to the Canyon Aeroad, which was also his bike of choice for the Tour of Flanders.

The new endurance bike from Canyon seems to be a clear departure from the concept of the existing Endurace, with the new bike taking serious hints from the Aeroad. Where the Endurace has for a long time been the classic endurance bike which was all about comfort, its successor ventures into the racing pedigree of endurance bikes.

Aeroad-inspired

A quick scan of the bike allows one to easily spot the new Endurace isn’t just about comfort anymore, but about aerodynamics just as much. The front end, with large fork profiles and a stretched out head tube, is clearly designed to allow air to flow around it as easily as possible.

Particularly interesting is the downtube, which widens around the top of the bottle cage. This should help to redirect the airflow around the bottles. It isn’t a completely unique feature as there’s different aero-bikes that use this solution, but it seems to be a first for an endurance platform.

Around the rear of the bike is where we start seeing some features we’d expect from an endurance road bike. The seat tube is much thinner than that of the Aeroad. It also doesn’t feature a cutout for the rear wheel like its aero brother does, which is most likely to allow for better impact vibration and thus improve comfort.

Another clear difference from the Aeroad, is the junction of the seat stays and the seat tube. The two seat stays actually meet before they merge into the seat tube, rather than smoothly transitioning into the seat tube. Most likely, this is also done for greater flexibility, which is key in the cobbled races for some much needed comfort. The new rear end also allows for wider tires.

While there’s some clear distinctions between the two bikes, some parts seem to simply be the exact same. Both bikes use the SP0075 seatpost, while the front fork also seems to be the same. Both forks look identical and the Endurace even has the small rubber feet underneath the fork for protection. Lastly, just as the seatpost, both forks also had stickers (underneath the crown) with the same numbering.

New cockpit

Currently, the Endurace allows for 35 millimeter wide tires. Judging by the looks of it, that has increased a bit, with the 30 millimeter wide Pirelli P Zero Race TLR RS, used by Alpecin-Premier Tech at De Ronde van Vlaanderen, leaving more than enough room to spare.

Lastly, the Endurace features a rather remarkable new cockpit with tops that sweep forward, rather than straight to the side. That exact cockpit seems to be a choice, as Silvain Dillier was the only one to use it. Other riders on the Endurace opted for the ‘regular’ bars which they also use on the Aeroad: the CP0049 Pro Base.

Whether MVDP will race the Endurace for Roubaix remains to be seen. He is never one to radically change gear between different races, so we wouldn’t be surprised to see him stick to his beloved Aeroad. Especially considering he only raced the E3 Saxo Classic on the new Endurace and soon after returned to the Aeroad.

A spokesperson for Canyon told us it remains to be decided whether he will race the Aeroad or Endurace during Paris-Roubaix, with weather also a factor in that decision.

Gallery: Unreleased Canyon Endurace