Van der Poel caught with new Canyon Aeroad prototype

Mathieu Van der Poel enjoyed a quiet ride with his team-mate Gianni Vermeersch during the first Alpecin-Deceuninck winter training camp in Spain to test a Canyon prototype that looks like it could be the next Aeroad, the Koblenz-based company's areodynamic machine.

New Canyon Aeroad could be available soon

It's no surprise that mobile phones and social networks are very dangerous nowadays, as any mistake or out-of-context publication can get us into trouble. Something like that happened to Gianni Vermeersch during the ride he did a few days ago with Mathieu Van der Poel around Benicassim, where the first Alpecin-Deceuninck pre-season training camp took place.

The Belgian posted a photo of Mathieu on the route without realising that the bike he was riding that day is one of those that can't be shown as it is a Canyon prototype. Rumours and comments about the machine the Dutchman was riding soon followed, suggesting that the arrival of a new Canyon Aeroad must be imminent, as testing with the pros is usually the final stage of bike development.

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The brand had no choice but to confirm that the bike shown in the photos was indeed a prototype of something they were working on, without adding further details.

In the image posted by Vermeersch, which was removed from his Instagram account a short time later, we can see that the bike is very similar to the current Aeroad, although aspects such as the reduced section of the head tube stand out, contrary to the current trend in aero bikes, which takes advantage of the greater permissibility allowed by the UCI standard to give this area a more aero profile.

It is also noticeable how the angle between down tube and seat tube has been filled, an area that the manufacturers have found to have an important influence on the wind resistance of the set-up. Also striking is the small addition at the top tube/seat tube junction, which could imply a change to the seatpost clamping system, something that has given Canyon more than a few headaches on their current Aeroad.

The current version of this bike has been a source of problems for Canyon, which, in addition to having to deal with seatposts that didn't quite fit properly, had its initial launch delayed when it was presented in the middle of the pandemic.

Just when it seemed that the launch of the bike was finally near, a breakage of the new handlebars on Mathieu Van der Poel's bike, which is adjustable in width thanks to its modular construction, during the GP Le Samyn, forced Canyon to withdraw all models from the peloton, delaying the market launch of the bike even further. We had to wait until 2022 to finally be able to buy a Canyon Aeroad.