When Carolin Schiff claimed victory in the women's 200-mile race of the 2023 Garmin Unbound Gravel presented by Craft, it was an epic solo effort for the last few hours of the race that delivered a stunning solo win for the German rider.
On taking the win, Schiff said "I did not always believe that there was a big gap. To finish is to finish and just push because anything can happen. I love gravel racing! I found my spot, I think."
Schiff races for the Canyon CLLCTV gravel team and has been pictured riding the brand's Grizl gravel bike so far this season, including taking the win at the UCI World Series in Berja, Spain. Canyon also produces the Grail gravel bike and the road-going Ultimate is also capable of accommodating gravel tyres so there are plenty of options in the Canyon range to choose from. Unbound, however, saw her riding a prototype bike from Canyon in a subtly camouflaged paint scheme, Peter Stetina and some other athletes were also riding the same prototype. The new frame looks to borrow features from bikes in the Canyon line already, there looks to be a new seatpost shape and rumours of a frame storage compartment in the down tube, a bit like the Trek Checkpoint or S-Works Diverge STR, both of which were featured in our Unbound tech gallery.
The differences here are most noticeable at the front of the bike with what appears to be a deeper fork which looks similar to the Grizl model, but without the additional mounts that fork has. There also seems to be a new integrated handlebar and stem that has a downward sweep from the stem faceplate, and an outward flare from the hoods to the drops.
Despite the visual similarity to the Grizl up front, we suspect this is a replacement for the Grail, Canyon's more race-ready gravel bike. The Grail made waves when it first launched with its odd double-decker handlebar design later renamed as the 'Grail Cockpit,' but we haven't seen that bar used much in competition.
The orange and black camouflage paint scheme also does a really good job at detracting from frame lines and details, add in mud and grit from the race and it's tricky to make out clear frame differences.
The above picture from the Unbound gravel Instagram page shows the downward sweep of what looks like a new prototype handlebar from Canyon. Brake hoses are exposed under the stem for now.
Equipment-wise, Schiff used a Dura-Ace Di2 groupset with a double 11-speed 9100 chainset and a newer 12-speed R9250 rear derailleur, which seems to be a popular choice amongst road and gravel riders at present.
Tyres were Schwalbe G-One RS tubeless models, and Schiff also raced with a spare inner tube attached to her top tube. Judging by its appearance it's one of the brand's Aerothan tubes which are very lightweight but offer good puncture protection - crucial at Unbound.
Wheels are supplied by Enve and Schiff ran a 42mm deep 3.4 rim in the rear with a shallower AG25 gravel model upfront.
