Alpecin-Deceuninck

Kaden Groves

Tech

Pro Bikes

Pro bike: Kaden Groves’ Canyon Aeroad CFR

Victories have proven to be elusive so far in 2024 for 

), who is yet to find the winning touch this season.

The Australian will be hoping to set that record straight in the coming months and return to the 2023 form that saw him rocket to four Grand Tour stage wins, including a sole triumph at the 

 and three victories at the Vuelta a España.

Each of those results were taken aboard the 

 Aeroad CFR, a bike that Groves is teaming up with once again this season. We caught a glimpse of the bike earlier in the year while Groves was making his season debut at the UAE Tour.

UAE Tour time trial tech gallery: New bikes, monster gearing and custom cockpits

Canyon Aeroad CFR: New look but same performance

Alpecin-Deceuninck’s new denim-inspired kit choice garnered plenty of attention when it was unveiled

, the new design for the team’s bikes went a little under the radar.

That isn’t too surprising as it’s very similar to the design used last season barring, in a case of ‘if it isn’t broken don’t try to fix it’, some slight tweaks. The most obvious is a move to a slightly different and more shiny shade of purple, which is now used across the entirety of the bike. It’s a simple but eye-catching design, although the special paint will catch the eye in different ways as the colour changes depending on the angle you look at it from.

Ollie Bridgewood’s new Canyon Aeroad CFR

Of course, looks won’t be enough to propel Groves to wins and for that he can rely on the machine under the paint, which happens to be one of the 

most successful bikes in the WorldTour peloton

. This season alone, the Canyon Aeroad has already won three of the four Monuments. Jasper Philipsen kicked things off with a win at Milan-San Remo, before 

Mathieu van der Poel backed that up at the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix

Even without knowing its all-conquering background, the bike looks like it oozes speed. It’s an aero bike in the most obvious sense, with deep tubes, an aero cockpit and a chunky seatpost.

For the UAE Tour, Groves set his bike up with a 54/40t 

 Dura-Ace chainset, paired with an 11-34t cassette. We spotted him using the exact same 

gearing options at the 2023 Vuelta a España

, where he won three stages. It’s clearly his preferred set-up and one that provides a good balance thanks to the wide-range cassette that most pros are now taking advantage of.

The chainset was completed with 172.5mm cranks and an in-built Shimano Dura-Ace power meter.

Should you change crank length? Top tips from bike-fitting expert Jake Yarranton

The days of narrower tyres are now long gone and it’s hard to find many bikes in the pro peloton that aren’t specced with 28mm-wide options - barring Specialized-sponsored teams.

Groves’ bike didn’t buck this trend courtesy of its 28mm-wide 

 Corsa Pro TLRs, which also happen to be one of the most popular tyres in the peloton too.

These were equipped on Shimano’s Dura-Ace C60 wheels, with their 60mm depths. They’re on the deeper end of the scale but tip the scales, for a pair, at around 1500g. It’s not the lightest wheelset in the peloton but is still light for aero hoops.

The bike was completed with Canyon’s in-house components, including the CP0018 Aerocockpit. This was released alongside the latest generation of the Aeroad in 2020 and conforms to many of the norms you may expect, such as full integration. However, it is designed for ease of use too and allows a rider to adjust the width by up to 40mm through its detachable ‘cockpit wings’.

At the rear of the bike, Canyon’s Aero Seatpost has a chunky profile that is in keeping with the rest of the bike. It was home to Groves’ saddle of choice, the 

Vuelta a España pro bike: Kaden Groves’ Canyon Aeroad CFR

Kaden Groves wins stage 4 of Vuelta a España atop Canyon Aeroad CFR specced with Shimano Dura-Ace components.

Kaden Groves' Canyon Aeroad CFR bike for the Vuelta a España

. Most have skipped the race due to the gruelling route, but a handful have braved the vicious Spanish climbs for the rare sprint opportunities at the race.

 (Alpecin-Deceuninck), and it’s already proved to be a fruitful decision for the Australian who 

. He took that win atop the Canyon Aeroad CFR, and we managed to get our hands on his bike earlier in the race. Here is the breakdown:

’s lightest ever aero road bike. It’ll be familiar to many having been ridden to plenty of success this season by 

. In 2023, together with the team, the bike has won two Monuments - Milan-San Remo and Paris-Roubaix - one stage of the Giro d’Italia (through Groves), four stages of the Tour de France, plus the men’s road race at the World Championships. Courtesy of Groves’ victory on stage 4 of the Vuelta, it now boasts a Grand Tour clean sweep this season.

Canyon says that the bike was “developed for WorldTour wins” and that’s certainly proved to be the case this season. As is to be expected with an aero race bike, much of the performance is driven by its aerodynamic design. Developed in collaboration with aerodynamic experts Swiss Side, the German brand says that every tube and component has been optimised to reduce drag. We can’t put that to the test, but it definitely looks fast – especially at the hands of Groves.

As is becoming common as the lines between bike categories blur, the Aeroad CFR is also light - the lightest it’s ever been - saving over 200g over the previous flagship model, the CF SLX.

As a part of its collaboration with the team, Canyon has released multiple special-edition colourways of the Aeroad CFR this year, both ridden by and centred around Mathieu van der Poel. The first celebrated his 

None of those designs are on show at the Vuelta a España, with Groves and his teammates riding bikes with standard team-issue colours. The stylish design merges shades of blue and purple, closely resembling the team’s kit. It’s a great design, although it was only a blur as Groves sprinted to victory.

We encountered Groves’ bike ahead of stage 3, the day before he took his victory. That was a mountain stage, so we can be fairly certain that some elements of his bike build will have changed.

 cassette he used was probably swapped out for a more compact option, with something a little smaller than a 34t largest cog. That cassette was paired with a 54/40 Shimano Dura-Ace chainset, a common size in the pro peloton.

For the high mountains, Groves used the Shimano Dura-Ace C50 wheels. Their 50mm rims are fairly deep, although the Australian may have swapped them for the C60s for his sprint victory.

Those wheels were paired with Vittoria Corsa Pro TLR in a 28mm width, the most popular size from what we’ve seen at the race - they also have tan sidewalls which is always a winner with us.

Finishing components include Canyon’s integrated bar and stem, an area of the bike the brand put a particular focus on when developing the bike.

’s Pro Team saddle sits atop Canyon’s aero seatpost, while the team also uses Elite bottle cages.

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Kaden Groves

Race Program

Kaden Groves's Bikes

Pro bike: Kaden Groves’ Canyon Aeroad CFR

Vuelta a España pro bike: Kaden Groves’ Canyon Aeroad CFR

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