{"id":48338,"date":"2023-04-15T14:45:19","date_gmt":"2023-04-15T12:45:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bikeradar.com\/?p=724076"},"modified":"2023-04-15T15:35:51","modified_gmt":"2023-04-15T13:35:51","slug":"a-170mm-stem-pedals-from-2004-and-more-weird-and-wonderful-tech-from-paris-roubaix-2023","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/cyclingplus\/rss_feed\/a-170mm-stem-pedals-from-2004-and-more-weird-and-wonderful-tech-from-paris-roubaix-2023\/","title":{"rendered":"A 170mm stem, pedals from 2004 and more weird and wonderful tech from Paris-Roubaix 2023"},"content":{"rendered":"

Our Paris-Roubaix tech feast continues <\/p>

By George Scott\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Saturday, 15 April 2023 at 12:00 am<\/p>

\n\n

This week we\u2019ve been bringing you a feast of Paris-Roubaix tech<\/a>.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve covered our tech highlights from the 2023 Hell of the North<\/a>, the latest tyre pressure management system from Scope<\/a>, taken you up close and personal with Peter Sagan\u2019s final Roubaix bike<\/a>, spotted an unreleased Specialized Mondo tyre<\/a> and charted the evolution of Paris-Roubaix bikes over the past decade<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Now it\u2019s time for something different, with our gallery of the weird and wonderful tech snippets spotted at this year\u2019s Paris-Roubaix and Paris-Roubaix Femmes.<\/p>\n

Jonas Rutsch\u2019s 170mm stem<\/h2>\n
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Jonas Rutsch uses a huge 170mm stem.<\/span><\/figcaption> Matt Grayson \/ James York \/ Our Media<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

We\u2019re used to seeing pro riders with low and long positions but Jonas Rutsch\u2019s stem stopped us in our tracks when stalking the mechanics\u2019 trucks ahead of the race.<\/p>\n

The EF Education\u2013EasyPost rider\u2019s FSA SL-K aluminium stem measures a monstrous 170mm.<\/p>\n

As former BikeRadar staff member Ben Delaney commented on our Instagram<\/a>: \u201cThat\u2019s a top tube\u201d.<\/p>\n

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Jonas Rutsch of Team EF Education-EasyPost is one of the tallest riders in the pro peloton.<\/span><\/figcaption> Luc Claessen \/ Getty Images<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

The German rider is 197cm \/ 6ft 6in tall and rides a 58cm Cannondale SuperSix Evo Lab71<\/a> frame, requiring the 170mm stem to get the position\u00a0he desires.<\/p>\n

Cannondale does make a 61cm size frame for the new SuperSix, but perhaps Rutsch doesn\u2019t want the extra 3cm of stack height that frame brings.<\/p>\n

Even at 170mm, the stem wasn\u2019t long enough to cover all of Rutsch\u2019s race notes\u2026<\/p>\n

Did you bring your reading glasses?<\/h2>\n

Paris-Roubaix is a chaotic race, with 29 sectors (54.5km) of cobbles in the men\u2019s race and 17 (29.2km) in the women\u2019s race.<\/p>\n

Positioning is key to success on the cobbled sectors, with riders going elbow-to-elbow into each sector to stay at the front.<\/p>\n

Ninety-degree corners are common, too, and with the narrow crown of the cobbles the most sought-after patch of \u2018road\u2019, there\u2019s little room for error.<\/p>\n

As a result, it\u2019s common for riders to have the key sectors detailed on stem-mounted race notes. For a race like Roubaix, that requires some creative arts and crafts.<\/p>\n

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Sep Vanmarcke\u2019s (Israel PremierTech) race notes covered almost every millimetre of his 120mm BlackInc stem.<\/span><\/figcaption> Matt Grayson \/ James York \/ Our Media<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n
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Grace Brown (FDJ\u2013Suez) took advantage of the additional width of her Lapierre stem. All 17 sectors are noted, along with key corners, too.<\/span><\/figcaption> Matt Grayson \/ James York \/ Our Media<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n
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The short stem on this St. Michel\u2013Mavic\u2013Auber9 team bike left little room to account for the complexity of Paris-Roubaix.<\/span><\/figcaption> Matt Grayson \/ James York \/ Our Media<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n
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While most teams conjure up a printed and colour-coded spreadsheet, sometimes marker pen does the job.<\/span><\/figcaption> Matt Grayson \/ James York \/ Our Media<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n
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Matej Mohori\u010d went for a novel approach. Half of the race information is on a top layer, which can then be removed to reveal the second half.<\/span><\/figcaption> Matt Grayson \/ James York \/ Our Media<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n
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No room on the stem? There\u2019s always the top tube.<\/span><\/figcaption> Matt Grayson \/ James York \/ Our Media<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n
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Not every rider needed turn-by-turn instructions.<\/span><\/figcaption> Matt Grayson \/ James York \/ Our Media<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

Zoe B\u00e4ckstedt\u2019s pedals are older than she is<\/h2>\n
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Zoe B\u00e4ckstedt\u2019s modified Speedplay pedals for Paris-Roubaix Femmes.<\/span><\/figcaption> Matt Grayson \/ James York \/ Our Media<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

Zoe B\u00e4ckstedt made her Paris-Roubaix Femmes debut on Saturday \u2013 using a set of pedals older than she is.<\/p>\n

The 18-year-old \u2013 a two-time junior world road race champion \u2013 opted to use the Speedplay pedals ridden to victory by her father, Magnus B\u00e4ckstedt<\/a>, in the 2004 edition of Paris-Roubaix.<\/p>\n

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The pedals had their plastic casing removed ahead of Magnus B\u00e4ckstedt\u2019s 2004 Paris-Roubaix win.<\/span><\/figcaption> Matt Grayson \/ James York \/ Our Media<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

The custom-modified pedals had their plastic casing removed ahead of Magnus\u2019s surprise Hell of the North victory, leaving only the metal body on show.<\/p>\n

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B\u00e4ckstedt outsprinted Tristan Hoffman, Roger Hammond and Fabian Cancellara to win Paris-Roubaix in 2004.<\/span><\/figcaption> Tim de Waele \/ Getty Images<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

This, according to B\u00e4ckstedt Snr, reduces the risk of the pedal and cleat interface becoming clogged up by mud.<\/p>\n

Zoe B\u00e4ckstedt\u2019s EF Education-TIBCO-SVB team-mate, Alison Jackson, went on to win the third edition of Paris-Roubaix Femmes.<\/p>\n

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Zoe B\u00e4ckstedt earned the Pink Panther nickname from one of the team\u2019s mechanics.<\/span><\/figcaption> Matt Grayson \/ James York \/ Our Media<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n