This page is about Mathieu Van Der Poel’s 2023 Cyclocross Bike size and specification.
As you know, I focus on professional road bikes as raced on the Tour de France and other Grand Tours.
I receive so many requests about the Cyclocross bike of Mathieu Van Der Poel so I decided to write a special post.
You may also be interested in Mathieu Van Der Poel’s Paris-Roubaix 2023 linked here.
The New Inflite 2023
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If you are on this page, then I assume you already know who is Mathieu Van Der Poel. Therefore, I will not waste your time by introducing how great he is.
Instead, I will dig into the technical details of his 2023 cyclocross bike(s).
Let me start to clarify two elephants in the room;
The first one is from when it is considered a 2023 bike.
Until December 30th, 2022, on the Exact Cross Loenhout – Azencross Cyclocross, Mathieu is seen racing on his “previous” Canyon Inflite.
From January 2023, MVDP is racing on a new Canyon Inflite CF SLX 9 that features entirely hidden brake hoses.
The new Canyon cyclocross frame’s color is a darker red with a pearl effect.
Inflite Size M or L
Now that the timing of the model has been clarified, let’s move on to the second elephant in the room; the frame size.
To put things in a context relating to bike sizes, let’s remind ourselves Mathieu Van Der Poel is 1m84 tall.
Canyon does recommend the M size to riders from 1m78 to 1m84, and the size L to riders from 1m84 to 1m90.
This is considered as being in between two frame sizes. Which can be an eternal issue for many riders having to pick one size.
On February 5th, 2023, Mathieu Van Der Poel won the 2023 UCI Cyclo-Cross World Championships on the size L Canyon Inflite CF SLX 9.
Interestingly, he was racing on the size M in December 2022.
The Canyon Inflite CF SLX in sizes M and L have a very close geometry.
The head tube and seat tube angles, as well as the fork rake, are identical on both models.
The difference is in length and height.
There is a 9mm difference in the reach between the Canyon Inflite CF SLX frame size M and L, that’s less than 1cm. (393mm Vs 402mm)
You might be also interested in Mathieu Van Der Poel’s Alpecin-Deceuninck 2023 pro cycling team.
Canyon’s smart seatpost design
The Top tube is 16mm (1.6cm) longer on the L size than on the frame size M.
The difference in length is offset by adjusting the Selle Italia Flite Boost MVDP on the Canyon S13 VCLS CF Seatpost. The Canyon S13 features a smart conception allowing for adjustment of the setback between 15 and 35mm.
There is no need to change the seat post model between bikes of different lengths.
It sounds like it was designed for Mathieu Van Der Poel to allow him to switch between two bike sizes when necessary.
Well, the Canyon Inflite CF SLX is developed in collaboration with and for Mathieu Van Der Poel.
As you read this, the first question that pops up in your mind must be: “So why does he needs to switch sizes if the bike is developed for him?”.
In-Between Two Sizes
As I wrote above, the Canyon Inflite CF SLX in L size is very close to the M size in length.
The wheelbase is 16mm longer than the L size which provides increased stability at high speed. It is ideal for fast and dry-ish cyclo-cross races.
There is also the fact that the L size has a longer head tube which raises the handlebar height (22mm higher than the M size).
In the quick interview Mathieu gave after winning the 2023 UCI Cyclo-Cross World Championships, he mentioned he had some back pain again at the beginning of January 2023.
Cyclo-Cross racing is certainly not about comfort cycling but the longer headtube option plays an important part in Van Der Poel finding his best position in any given situation.
The fact that Mathieu Van Der Poel can fine-tune his position by having access to two very similar frame sizes designed for him shows how much Canyon is dedicated to the process.
Being between two sizes works well for Mathieu as he can use the bike that best fits him. What is a complicated issue for enthusiast riders having to select the right side is a huge advantage for Mathieu Van Der Poel as he got both sizes.
Fun fact, the Canyon Inflite CF SLX bike is registered with the UCI as a road bike (RD), not as a cyclo-cross bike (CX). The UCI registration code for the Canyon Inflite’s code CANY-R059-RD.
MVDP’s Bike Setup and Wears
Now that the size matter is cleared let’s move on to the three contact points of the rider with his bike.
Mathieu Van Der Poel rides with the one-piece Canyon handlebar/stem with 410mm bar width and 110mm stem length.
The Selle Italia Flite Boost MVDP edition saddle in black color seen for the first time on the Hoogerheide 2023 World Championships.
The pedals are the Shimano XTR SPD PD-M9100.
Van Der Poel’s Canyon Inflite CF SLX 9 bike is predictably raced with the Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 12-speed groupset.
The crankset is 172.5mm in length, and the chainrings are 46 / 39 teeth.
The cassette is the Shimano Dura-Ace 12-speed 11-30T CS-R9200-12.
The front and rear disc brake rotors are 140mm in diameter.
The wheels are the Shimano C50 tubular model fitted with handmade Dugast Typhoon 700×33 700×30 Cyclo-Cross tubulars.
While the front fork is designed for a tire clearance of 38mm, the Cyclo-Cross maximum tire section authorized is 33.
As a true Millenial, Mathieu Van Der Poel doesn’t wear gloves. Instead he relies on the vibration-absorbing qualities of Selle Italia bar tape.
Mathieu Van Der Poel races Cyclo-Cross with a Canyon helmet, Oakley Sutro Lite sunglasses, Kalas cycling jersey and bib-shorts, and the Shimano S-Phyre XC9 SH-XC902 cycling shoes. Mathieu also wears the WHOOP 4.0 Biometric sensor to measure his racing performances.
Message me on my Instagram if you have any comments regarding the Mathieu Van Der Poel’s 2023 Cyclocross Bike size.
Editor’s Note: This post was originally published February 6th, 2023, and has been updated on February 14th, 2023: Tire size from 700×33 to 700×30 based on tip from an Instagramer with fact as seen here.
