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City Wind News Blog All the New Tech We Spotted at Omloop het Nieuwsblad

All the New Tech We Spotted at Omloop het Nieuwsblad

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  • 1 March 2026
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Let’s kick things off with a bike brand that makes its debut in the pro peloton this year, which is the German brand ROSE. The Unibet Rose Rockets race the 2026 season on the ROSE Shave FF.
(Photo: Ties Wijntjes for Velo)

Updated February 28, 2026 12:21PM

Cobbles, rough weather, punchy climbs, and frites can mean only one thing: the classics have begun.

Even with an early-season slate of sunny races to take pro cyclists out of their winter training, Omloop het Nieuwsblad is still the true opening of the cycling season. For that reason, the race has a certain suspense around it you won’t find elsewhere, even if it is not the biggest race of the season.

Like over the last few years, Omloop starts in Gent, where a big hall next to the famous velodrome ’t Kuipke turns into the epicenter of road cycling for a few hours. Most of the busses park inside the hall, which becomes a formicary for cyclists, Belgian cycling fans, and eager journalists.

The first cobbled classic is not only the first time we see many of the big hitters line up against each other, it is also the moment for many teams and bike brands to reveal some of the new tech they have been working on or testing over the winter months.

Although the opening weekend doesn’t deliver hordes of new products like it used to, it is still a great place to see tricked-out bikes and unreleased tech — reason enough to scour the grounds for cobble-specific setups, new products, and other notable tech.

Gallery: New Gear at Omloop het Nieuwsblad

Let’s kick things off with a bike brand that makes its debut in the pro peloton this year, which is the German brand ROSE. The Unibet Rose Rockets race the 2026 season on the ROSE Shave FF.
 (Photo: Ties Wijntjes for Velo)
For the cobbled classics, they choose a 1x setup, with SRAM’s Red AXS XPLR rear derailleur. That was a setup debuted in the classics last year by Lidl-Trek, but we saw quite a few different teams using it this year.
 (Photo: Ties Wijntjes for Velo)
Although we saw that setup multiple times, an interesting difference was the choice of chain catchers. UNO-X used this GnarWolf Braze-On Mount rev2, which is originally designed for ‘mountain biking, extreme gravel and particularly rough CX races.’
 (Photo: Ties Wijntjes for Velo)
Some teams chose to run their 1x setup with a ‘regular’ SRAM Red AXS rear derailleur, such as Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe.
 (Photo: Ties Wijntjes for Velo)
Bahrain Victorious are aboard Bianchi bicycles this year, which are equipped with Elilee cranksets, which according to the Chinese brand only weigh 310 grams a piece.
 (Photo: Ties Wijntjes for Velo)
30-millimeter wide Vittoria Corsa Pros were one of the most used tires.
 (Photo: Ties Wijntjes for Velo)
Two teams chose to start with wider tires: Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe and Soudal Quick-Step raced on an unbranded 32-millimeter cotton tire from Specialized. Presumably — judging by the familiar thread — it is a new cotton Turbo TLR tire.
 (Photo: Ties Wijntjes for Velo)
UAE Team Emirates-XRG were aboard Continental’s Archetype, which the German brand developed together with the Emirates-based squad for last year’s Tour de France.
 (Photo: Ties Wijntjes for Velo)
Another piece of rubber that caught our eye was the Schwalbe Pro One Aerothan. The lightweight tire has been teased for a few years already, but remains reserved for the pros (of Tudor Pro Cycling in this specific case) due to production challenges.
 (Photo: Ties Wijntjes for Velo)
Mathieu van der Poel and his teammates seemed to have a new set of wheels at their disposal. Judging by the looks, it’s a new version of Shimano’s Dura-Ace wheels.
 (Photo: Ties Wijntjes for Velo)
It looks like the wheels feature a much wider rim than the current Dura-Ace wheels. This leads to a more aerodynamic interface with the tire.
 (Photo: Ties Wijntjes for Velo)
Alpecin-Premier Tech also used some more simple tech: a good old zip tie for some cable organization around the rear derailleur.
 (Photo: Ties Wijntjes for Velo)
Some bike brands have specific solutions to attach number plates as aerodynamically as possible, such as this one aboard Mathieu van der Poel’s Canyon Abroad CFR, which hides the mount behind the seat post. (Photo: Ties Wijntjes for Velo)
Lidl-Trek uses a little plastic cover that slides around the seatpost.
 (Photo: Ties Wijntjes for Velo)
Another piece of aero-tech over at Lidl-Trek were these presumably 3D printed Wahoo mounts.
 (Photo: Ties Wijntjes for Velo)
The German team also raced on a pair of new, unbranded wheels. Neither mechanics nor the press officer we spoke to wanted to share anything on the wheels, although we presume it’s the newest addition to Bontrager’s Aelous lineup.
 (Photo: Ties Wijntjes for Velo)
Although INEOS Grenadiers turned to dark bibs for the classics, they stuck to their light colored bike design.
 (Photo: Ties Wijntjes for Velo)
The British team use some good old sandpaper to keep the bottles in the bottle cages on the bumpy Belgian roads.
 (Photo: Ties Wijntjes for Velo)
As did EF Education-EasyPost.
 (Photo: Ties Wijntjes for Velo)
UCI jury members use a very simple measuring tool to see whether teams adhere to the rules regarding handlebar sizes.
 (Photo: Ties Wijntjes for Velo)
The two different sides of the tool are used to measure the size of the handlebar on both the hoods and in the drops.
 (Photo: Ties Wijntjes for Velo)
UAE Team Emirates-XRG has a specific aerodynamic mount that hides the riders’ Wahoo bike computers from the wind as much as possible.
 (Photo: Ties Wijntjes for Velo)
Another interesting detail on their Colnago Y1Rs team bikes is the use of a Bikone ceramic bottom bracket. (Photo: Ties Wijntjes for Velo)
Multiple teams mount transponders on the inner side of the front fork, for a slight aerodynamic advantage, such as Visma-Lease a Bike.
 (Photo: Ties Wijntjes for Velo)
Then again, these trackers from Velon will form a slight efficiency penalty, both in terms of weight and aerodynamics.
 (Photo: Ties Wijntjes for Velo)
Some of the Red Bull-BORA-Hansgrohe riders were using SRAM Blips satellite shifters, mounted to their individual liking.
 (Photo: Ties Wijntjes for Velo)
Some teams have head unit mounts designed to be as aerodynamic as possible, other teams (such as Soudal Quick-Step) have head unit mounts that are just designed to be as good-looking as possible. (Photo: Ties Wijntjes for Velo)
More and more teams are turning to rider-specific nutrition, such as is the case over at Bahrain Victorious. (Photo: Ties Wijntjes for Velo)
To help riders stick to their nutrition plain, some teams have special stickers which they place on the stem.
 (Photo: Ties Wijntjes for Velo)
Race winner Demi Vollering sticks her own note sheet on her stem.
 (Photo: Ties Wijntjes for Velo)
Rather than some specific design, she simply writes down her notes on a piece of cotton tape.
 (Photo: Ties Wijntjes for Velo)
The European champ uses a Specialized Power saddle with Mimic. Judging by the carbon rails, this is a new and as of yet unreleased version of that saddle.
 (Photo: Ties Wijntjes for Velo)
Whereas many men raced with a 1x setup, we only spotted one bike in the women’s peloton with a single chainring, which belonged to Cédrine Kerbaol.
 (Photo: Ties Wijntjes for Velo)
Even though Liv AlUla Jayco used a 2x setup, they still chose to add a chain catcher.
 (Photo: Ties Wijntjes for Velo)
Like Tudor over in the men’s peloton, CANYON//SRAM Zondacrypto used Schwalbe’s Pro One Aerothan tires. Interestingly, they also used Schwalbe’s Clik Valve, which made them the only team to use a non-presta valve. (Photo: Ties Wijntjes for Velo)
Lil AlUla Jayco were using the new Cadex 50 WheelSystem and CADEX Aero Tubeless Tire.
 (Photo: Ties Wijntjes for Velo)
According to the Taiwanese brand, the wheels and tires are developed specifically to be used together for optimal aerodynamic performance. The wheels feature a 22.4 millimeter internal width, which should optimize the shape of the tire and thus the aerodynamic properties of the system.
 (Photo: Ties Wijntjes for Velo)
Definitely not all, but quite a lot of teams turn to hot wax nowadays for chain lubrication.
 (Photo: Ties Wijntjes for Velo)
Whereas nearly all men raced on aero-specific bikes, a few women chose lightweight bikes. Such as Karlijn Swinkels of UAE Team ADQ, who said she prefers Colnago’s V5Rs for the cobbled classics because of its lower weight and better comfort compared to the Y1Rs.
 (Photo: Ties Wijntjes for Velo)
Mathieu van der Poel’s bike is as team-standard as they come, except for his custom Selle Italia Flite Boost MVDP saddle.
 (Photo: Ties Wijntjes for Velo)
We spotted different riders using aerodynamic overshoes that didn’t cover the entire shoe but instead consisted of two separate parts and left the front of the shoe out in the open. Such as Oliver Naesen, whose white overshoes were not that white anymore after a crash during the race.
 (Photo: Ties Wijntjes for Velo)
Matis Louvel of NSN Cycling team was using a similar type of overshoe.
 (Photo: Ties Wijntjes for Velo)
I’ll leave you with this rather unfair match. Choose your fighter!
 (Photo: Ties Wijntjes for Velo)

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