With the anticipation building around Paris-Roubaix, Ineos Grenadiers dropped the bombshell that Tom Pidcock will make his debut in the race this year. The Brit - who won the Junior and Espoirs versions in 2017 and 2019 - didn't originally have the final cobbled Classic on his race programme, and after a crash in Itzulia, looked unlikely to be fit at all.
"I've recovered really quick," Pidcock said in a video announcing his participation. Here's a closer look at the bike he rode earlier in the season - during February's Opening Weekend.
This rig, tailored for the unforgiving terrain, mirrors what his teammates will ride, embodying Team Ineos Grenadiers' strategy for the grueling race ahead - so just what have they changed ahead of cycling's Sunday in Hell?
For the 2024 classics season, the Ineos Grenadiers have opted for the trusty Pinarello Dogma F, maintaining a minimalist approach to bike-bodging for the cobbles.
Of course, the usual suspects of wider tyres and tweaked gear ratios are to be found on Tom Pidcock's bike, but thanks to ever improving tyre clearances on road bikes, there's no special edition cobbled classic frame to be seen for the team.
These images are from Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, where Ineos team mechanic Diego Costa explained some of the minor changes made to the team's bikes.
"The only thing we are doing differently for the classics is the tyres. We are riding 32mm 32mm front and back, set up tubeless, with inserts. Some of the guys have also opted for double-wrapped bar tape, but that's it."
As tyres get wider and wider, tyre pressures drop too - Costa confirmed that for the cobbles, riders were running between 50 and 60 PSI, or 3.5 and 4 bar on their Dura Ace C50 wheelsets.
As has been the case throughout the British WorldTour team's history, Ineos is riding Shimano's range-topping Dura Ace Di2 groupset, however, for the fast and furious racing in northern Europe, Ineos has opted for larger chainrings.
At a much hillier Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, Pidcock rode a 54/40 chainset coupled with 11-32 cassette. For Roubaix though, expect to see larger chainring setups, anywhere from 54-60t, coupled with tighter range cassettes for maintaining optimal cadence on the brutal tailwind course.
Although, as Costa mentioned, some riders may opt for double-wrapped handlebar tape for the bone-shuddering cobbles, Pidcock prefers to keep his setup the same old. His Most one-piece integrated cockpit, which measures 120x380mm, is shod with Prologo Onetouch Nuetro bar tape.
Finishing kit is topped off with a Prologo Scratch M5 saddle, which Pidcock has set fairly far back, with a slightly down tilted nose.
It's fair to say that Tom Pidcock's Pinarello Dogma F does more than perform well too - it really is a looker. The fade paint job this year is a bold, adding flair to the classic frame shape's elegance.
Such a well-proportioned setup really makes this bike one for the purists - a perfect fit for the rigors of professional cycling.
