Nathan Haas’ Colnago G3-X: UCI Gravel World Championships bike check

Since retiring from the WorldTour peloton at the end of 2021, Nathan Haas has become a regular face on the gravel scene. His transition to the discipline has become a well-trodden path in recent years, taken by many former pros as the world of gravel racing has boomed.

Now current WorldTour riders are getting in on the action thanks to the UCI Gravel World Championships, first launched last year and returning this week with another stellar line-up. In the men’s race, defending champion Gianni Vermeersch (Alpecin–Deceuninck) will be joined by a host of current WorldTour pros, including Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) and Matej Mohorič (Bahrain Victorious).

Last year the course caused a stir as it was relatively tame by gravel standards, but this year’s route is tougher with more distance and climbing. Plus the gravel is more difficult, if rumours are to be believed. That makes bike selection important and we caught a glimpse of Haas’ Colnago G3-X set-up ahead of the race, where he’ll be hoping to enjoy gravel glory representing Australia.

Read more: Preview UCI Gravel World Championships

Colnago goes off-road with G3-X

© Laura Fletcher / Colnago

Colnago's G3-X was released in 2019

Released in 2019, the G3-X was Colnago’s first foray into the gravel market. The bike hasn’t undergone any changes since then, except for Haas who received a range of custom G3-Xs in 2022, one of them going by the name of ‘Purple Rain’ - the design he’ll be using at the World Championships. While we can’t confirm whether the design team at Colnago are fans of Prince or not, it’s clear from a glance at the colourway where the name derives from - you’ll struggle to find a more eye-catching bike at the World Championships.

Read more: Is this the world's lightest functional gravel bike?

“Fastest gravel bike ever designed”

The G3-X is, in Colnago’s own words, “the fastest gravel bike ever designed”. Its design somewhat resembles that of the V3Rs, Colnago’s previous race bike which has since been superseded by the V4Rs, with dropped seatstays and an aero seatpost which uses an internal seat clamp.

Despite the similarities, the G3-X is a pure gravel machine, adapted to its purpose through a lower bottom bracket and longer wheelbase - generally, a lower bottom bracket is advantageous for gravel riding as it lowers the bike’s centre of gravity, improving stability.

Of course, the bike also has much wider tyre clearance, accepting a maximum of 700x42mm or 650bx47mm. For Haas, that’s Schwalbe’s G-One R in what we suspect is a 40mm tyre. This is a race-orientated gravel tyre designed for “light terrain, gravel roads and asphalt”, suitable for the mixed nature of the World Championships course, although Haas confirmed that he may change tyres ahead of the race.

© Laura Fletcher / Colnago

Tyre selection is one of the most important choices for a gravel set-up

Haas has paired these with Campagnolo’s endurance wheelset, the Shamal, rather than the gravel-specific Levante. The Shamal wheels have different rim depths, 35mm at the front and 40mm at the rear, and are slightly more aerodynamic than the Levantes.

Campagnolo Ekar: gearing doesn’t get any wider

The days of limited gearing options are in the distant past and now nearly all groupsets, except the basic entry-level options, are at least 11-speed. Most top-end road groupsets are 12-speed but the Campagnolo Ekar gravel groupset even trumps that with its 13-speed set-up. As is usual for gravel, it’s a 1x system and by our estimate Haas has a 40t chainring. Of the four sizes Campagnolo offers, that’s one of the smallest, falling below the 42t and 44t offerings. This decision may be driven by the nearly 3000m of climbing riders will tackle.

© Laura Fletcher / Colnago

Haas can choose between 13 different gears through the Campagnolo Ekar groupset

Read more: Larry Warbasse’s BMC Kaius 01

Fizik, Deda and Garmin finish the gravel set-up

Gravel places more strain on the body than other types of riding, specifically the rear end - riders tend to spend more time sitting in the saddle. That makes saddle selection important and for Haas the Fizik Antares Versus Evo is the winning choice. It’s 3D-printed and on the pricier end of the spectrum for everyday riders, but can you really put a value on saddle comfort? The saddle sits atop the aforementioned Colnago aero seatpost.

© Laura Fletcher / Colnago

3D-printed saddles are now common and used by many pros

The front of the bike is dominated by Deda components, including the stem and Gera flared handlebars. Popular for gravel riding, flared handlebars result in a wider stance when riding in the drops, which is usually more stable. They also open up more space for handlebar bags, although that’s not a concern for the World Championships.

© Laura Fletcher / Colnago

The Deda handlebars feature a flared design

Haas’ cockpit is completed with a Garmin computer which is mounted the old-school way to the stem rather than via an aero mount out front. The computer will link up to the Garmin Rally mountain bike pedals.

Tools and spares: gravel essentials

According to the regulations, every rider has to bring their own tools and a spare tyre or tubular. This will come as a shock to the WorldTour pros who are used to mechanical assistance throughout a race, but is nothing new to the gravel-specialists - many gravel races are decided by mechanical attrition as much as power.

Of course, all of this has to be stored, and Haas has a CO2 canister secured to the seatpost and a pump connected to the bottle cage on his seat tube. There’s also a small Silca saddle bag which should be enough to house a small tool kit.

© Laura Fletcher / Colnago

Riders have to be prepared for punctures

The 2023 Gravel World Championships are just days away and you can check out a full start list for the men’s and women’s races here.

You can discover more pro bikes, tech news and features in the tech section on the GCN website, linked here.

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