A road bike to win the European Cyclocross Championship

Toon Aerts not only surprised by reclaiming the European champion jersey nine years later. He also did so with the bike that secured his victory: a road Orbea Orca adapted for the demands of cyclocross.

An Orbea Orca wins the European Cyclocross Championship

The Belgian, leader of Team Deschacht Hens-Maes, competed in Middelkerke with a customized version of the Orca OMX, demonstrating that the lightness and stiffness of a road frame can perform at its best even on a technical circuit, with some mud and filled with obstacles like that of the European Championship.

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The Belgian team Deschacht Hens-Maes is sponsored by Orbea this season, and although the Basque brand currently does not have a specific cyclocross bike, it is true that their new Terra Race, focused on competitive gravel, can be perfectly adapted to this discipline.

And although the Terra has become the usual option for most of the team’s riders, Aerts and other members have preferred to adapt the climbing road model, the Orbea Orca. A model that thanks to the new geometries and the good balance of stiffness and weight that the OMX carbon offers has proven to perform at its best in competitive cyclocross.

To win the European Cyclocross Championship, Toon Aerts mounted a Orbea Orca with Vittoria A. Dugast Pipistrello tires of 33 mm, the maximum allowed by the UCI, Icon T3.5 Disc carbon wheels with a 35 mm profile and DT Swiss hubs, specific for CX tubulars, the Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 group, reliable and fast, and a narrow handlebar (40mm). A winning configuration.

With this bike, Aerts has demonstrated that, with the right adjustments, a high-performance road bike can succeed even in the mud of cyclocross.