Check out the Specialized Roubaix that Philippe Gilbert rode to Paris-Roubaix victory in 2019

Brand new at the time, this version of the Roubaix endurance bike came with Future Shock 2.0 suspension to take the sting out of the cobbles, but why was there an Allen key taped to the seatpost?It was five years ago that Classics specialist Philippe Gilbert won Paris-Roubaix, and you could hear the cheers not just in the iconic Roubaix Velodrome, but also at Specialized HQ in California, the new Roubaix road bike that he piloted to victory having been launched just a few days previously.

Like the rest of the Deceuninck-Quick Step riders, Gilbert was riding a Roubaix with a special ‘pro fit’ geometry with stack and reach measurements matching those of the Tarmac lightweight road bike. The regular Roubaix was a little shorter and had a front end that was a touch higher to suit riders less used to spending all day in an aggressive race position.

Those features were wrapped up in a frame that was a claimed 900g – lighter than Specialized’s Venge, the aero road bike that has since been discontinued. Speaking of aerodynamics, this Roubaix was the first that had been specially designed to reduce drag, Specialized claiming that it was more efficient than its Tarmac SL6 road bike.

Although Sagan went with a mechanical groupset, Gilbert used a regular Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 groupset which served him well where others had issues. He had small Di2 sprint shifter buttons inside the hoods for changing gears in the drops. Gilbert also used a Shimano Dura-Ace power meter and Shimano SPD-SL pedals.

Gilbert’s race notes were taped to the 125mm Pro Vibe aluminium stem and an aluminium Pro handlebar was double-wrapped with bar tape right up to the stem. A K-Edge out-front mount secured his Garmin computer in place. His handlebar was a traditional shape, with a deep drop to provide a very aggressive and aero position.

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