Mathieu van der Poel has been spotted riding what appears to be a new aerodynamic handlebar on Instagram. While the full bike isn’t visible, sightings at Omloop and on social media hint that updates to the Aeroad could be on the way, and Canyon has all but confirm to us that at least the handlebars that Van der Poel was using are new and unreleased.
2025 Mathieu van der Poel unreleased Canyon road bike (Image Credit: @mathieuvanderpoel Instagram)
At the end of last year, Mathieu Van der Poel was spotted riding what appeared to be a new Canyon road bike in an Instagram reel, sparking speculation about whether it was a new Ultimate climbing bike, an updated Aeroad, or perhaps an Endurace.
Over opening weekend at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, some updates to the Aeroad were seen, as reported by BikeRadar – including, in some cases, a UDH dropout replacing the proprietary dropout found on the current model.
2026 Mathieu van der Poel aero handlebars (Image Credit: @mathieuvanderpoel Instagram)
We’ve spotted Van der Poel again on Instagram, this time on what appears to be a set of new aerodynamic integrated handlebars, suggesting a possible update to the Aeroad.
Back in November, we noted a potential new handlebar design with forward-swept tops – a feature that’s visible again here – with the tops also appearing deeper than the straight, slimmer profile of the Pace cockpit (pictured below).
2024 canyon aeroad cfr axs bars top (Image Credit: Farrelly Atkinson)
Canyon released the latest version of its aero road bike, the Aeroad CFR, in summer 2024 after it was first spotted at the Critérium du Dauphiné. While we initially thought that another update to the Aeroad seemed unlikely given Canyon’s typical release cycle, these sightings suggest that developments to the brand’s aero bike could still be on the way.
Canyon responded to our request for comment, telling road.cc: “Our elite-level athletes and teams support us by testing innovative prototypes and pre-production developments for many of our race-winning bikes. We rely on studying these real-world testing conditions to ensure any developments make the grade at the highest level and that they may eventually be presented to consumers.
“We aren’t currently releasing any further information about this product, but we are excited to see how it performs. Stay tuned to Canyon for more.”
Omloop Tech Gallery – Canyon Aeroad CFR Custom Paint (Image Credit: Liam Cahill)
While Canyon isn’t revealing specifics, the statement confirms something new is coming. Is there a whole new bike behind this unreleased cockpit? It looks likely we’re going to find out later in the year…