Stage two had Mathieu van der Poel's name all over it. It was the longest stage in the 2025 Tour de France at 209 kilometres, speeding across northern France towards a punchy final 25 kilometres that culminated in an uphill finish to the Boulevard Auguste Mariette in Boulogne-sur-Mer. While the pure sprinters were distanced, including stage-one winner Jasper Philipsen, Van der Poel went elbow to elbow with Tadej Pogačar and Jonas Vingegaard, holding both off with a trademark powerful uphill sprint.

Philipsen lost 31 seconds, leaving his Alpecin-Deceuninck team-mate Van der Poel to take over the race lead – and this is the Canyon Aeroad CFR the latter rode.

Since these photos were taken, Van der Poel has started stage three on a new Aeroad CFR, swapping the subtle glitter-on-white of this custom MyCanyon paint scheme for an all-yellow one, just as his team-mate Philipsen did after winning stage one in Lille. The 30-year-old Dutchman has won the Tour of Flanders three times, Paris-Roubaix three times and he is a former world champion, but this was only his second ever Tour stage win, so it's something to celebrate. Besides, there was an exact precedent: he won stage two of the 2021 Tour de France and rode a yellow bike the following day.

Canyon pointed out that the yellow of Philipsen’s yellow bike was no ordinary flat colour: the paint technique, pioneered by senior graphic designer Lukas Beck, followed the same pattern used on the Carina design in the MyCanyon Mano collection, achieved through a unique hand-stamping process that gives it a three-dimensional look under the surface. Canyon may have had yet another variation lined up for Van der Poel – as yet we haven't been able to get a proper look at it. For stage three Canyon shipped in a special green bike for Philipsen, but the Belgian crashed out of the race while riding it on stage three.

Van der Poel, who is 184cm tall, rides a size large Aeroad CFR, which is obviously dimensionally the same as the consumer size large, but he uses a pro-only cockpit with a negative-rise stem that helps him achieve a lower front end. He’s got Canyon’s 3D-printed Forward AM out-front mount attached, which is specifically designed to blend with the Aeroad cockpit.

The seatpost is a Canyon SP0075 that’s also slightly different from the standard SP0077. Although both appear to have 10 millimetres of seatback, the pro version has less material behind the clamp, possibly saving a little bit of weight. Note that MvdP’s saddle is clamped exactly in the middle – the sign of a perfect bike fit.

Van der Poel uses a custom Selle Italia Flite Boost Kit Carbonio with his logo on the cover and his signature at the rear – and he opts for an old-school pro white even when he’s not world champion.

MvdP is something of a creature of habit with his gear ratios, choosing 54/40 on the front as he has done for the past years, and not following the current trend – though not for long if the UCI has its way – of bigger chainrings. The chain looks substantially waxed – as you’d expect, there’s no stone left unturned or link left unlubricated in the pursuit of efficiency. 

Alpecin-Deceuninck use Shimano Dura-Ace wheels as well as groupsets, and here MvdP is running the C60s, which have a 60mm depth, with Pirelli P Zero Race TLR RS tyres in a 30mm width, the latest flagship racing tyre from the Italian brand.

There are two Elite Custom Race X bottle cages made from FRP (fibre reinforced material). These weigh a claimed 28.5 grams each, three grams more than Elite's Vico Carbon, but probably chosen over the latter for its firmer grip.

In swapping this one for a yellow bike, Van der Poel and Canyon will want to celebrate every moment of leading the Tour de France before the jersey is inevitably reclaimed by once the race hits higher mountains. Canyon have never won the men’s Tour de France overall: founder Roman Arnold, who spoke to Rouleur in detail about his life in cycling for upcoming issue 137 (and let us photograph his incredible bike collection), told us that he wouldn’t retire until his brand had achieved it. And he was only half joking.