Published September 26, 2021 08:12PM
Gallery: Alaphilippe's Worlds winning, clincher-clad Tarmac SL7
Fresh from the finish line, the bike has tubes in its tyres, is caked in Flemish dirt, and is covered in sweat and tears.
Julian Alaphilippe soloed to a second consecutive UCI men’s Road World Championship on Sunday. He did so in a similar swashbuckling style to his victory in Imola, Italy, 12 months ago. Also very similar was Alaphilippe’s bike, the S-Works Tarmac SL7. While this is the second men’s title in a year for the SL7, the 2021 bike had one crucial difference – clinchers!
Alaphilippe opted for Specialized’s Turbo Cottons and latex inner tubes for his latest World Championship bid, and Specialized believes this is the first elite World Championship won on clinchers. This is the second major one-day victory for the Specialized clincher tyre family this year after Kasper Asgreen rolled to a Tour of Flanders victory in April.
More significantly, Alaphilippe’s victory could be another nail in the tubular tyre coffin. Specialized has already stopped investing in tubular tyre technology to fully focus on the benefits it sees in clinchers, as our very own James Huang and Dave Rome discussed with Specialized on a Nerd Alert podcast earlier this year.
Otherwise, the bike is almost identical, with Roval Rapide CLX wheels and Dura-Ace Di2 9170 components.
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We grabbed these shots of the bike just three hours after Alaphilippe soloed across the line, so grab yourself a Duvel, sit back, and enjoy a close look at the 2021 elite men’s World Championship-winning bike.
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Alaphilippe rides a 52cm S-Works Tarmac SL7, with Roval Rapide CLS wheels, Dura-Ace Di2 9170 groupset, Turbo Cotton clincher tyres, Specialized Romin Evo saddle, and buckets of panache. -
A long hard day on the roads of Flanders leaves you a little tired looking. -
Don’t dare clean it, the bike will stay in this state for the rest of its days. -
No doubting who owns this rig… -
or who he rides for. -
Yeah OK, we get it. -
The bike will retire to the museum in Specialized’s Morgan Hill HQ. -
Alaphilippe runs the Romin Evo 143mm saddle, a perch Specialized tells us is a favourite amongst its pro riders. -
Alaphilippe prefers traditional round bars and opts for PRO’s Vibes… -
With a slight downward tilt on the bars and inwards tilt on the levers. -
The world champ runs a 100mm Tarmac stem. -
This allows for a slightly more practical semi-internal cable routing setup. -
Supacaz tape wrapped to perfection. -
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While Asgreen soloed to his Flanders victory on the Specialized Turbo Cotton Hell of the North tyres,Alaphilippe was running the lighter, faster Turbo Cottons on Sunday. -
Team tube inside will be happy. -
26 mm clincher tyres forAlaphilippe. -
The Roval CLX wheelset has built an impressive palmares in the year since its introduction. Two green jerseys, Grand Tour stages, Classics and Worlds wins. -
The CLXs have a 51mm front rim and a 60mm rear. -
A first for clinchers? -
Whatever about that, its two in-a-row for the flamboyant Alaphilippe. -
Neat number plate mounting. -
Dura-Ace groupset and the R9100P power meter. -
Tacx bottle cages. -
K-Edge provides the chain catcher, which doubles as the power meter magnet. -
The UCI tagged the bike post motor check. -
Note the pen mark for measuring saddle position. -
Good manAlaphilippe, takes his rubbish home. -
The zero-offset seatpost, Di2 junction box and the race transponder mount. -
Alaphilippe opts for the wider axle Shimano Dura-Ace 9000 pedals with 4mm wider q-factor.