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SPEAKER 1: Late February, 2012, and Specialized Racing
Development has set up shop in Malle, Belgium.
After thousands of hours refining the Specialized
Roubaix, it's time for the latest iteration to get final
approval from the master Tom Boonen.
Former world champion and three times winner of
Paris-Roubaix, Tom lives just 10 kilometers away from what
is surely one of the world's most unique test tracks.
With the buzz from the other testers and mechanics
increasing, Boonen leaves the camper to investigate.
TOM BOONEN: The whole front end's a lot like the SL4,
oversize, head tube, things like that, so a lot of
stiffness in the front.
CHRIS D'ALUSIO: If it's on the track, there's still air, so
we don't need to sense where the air is coming from, so
this does that, since it's the speed of the air.
SPEAKER 1: Presented with a lighter, stiffer, smoother,
and thus faster version of the bike that propelled him to his
last two Roubaix victories, it doesn't take much convincing
that this is the bike for Tom.
The main objective of the day achieved, engineer Chris
D'Aluisio has one more request.
CHRIS D'ALUSIO: The only other thing we want to try, if
you're into it, is try the post.
TOM BOONEN: I'll try it.
I'll give it a go.
CHRIS D'ALUSIO: OK.
Awesome.
Hopefully you can go into it with an open mind.
TOM BOONEN: Yeah.
Yeah.
CHRIS D'ALUSIO: And I wouldn't mind going up a little bit on
tire pressure when you do it, because that's the advantage.
You can run a higher pressure and get the good rolling
resistance, because what Sam just said about one tire being
better than the other when I said about the bumpier it is,
it's because it's moving.
So if the post doesn't move and the bike does, that's
lower rolling resistance.
SPEAKER 1: Like engineers know numbers, Boonen knows cobbles.
And after just 15 minutes, the decision is made.
TOM BOONEN: I think this will be the setup, four, four,
four, five.
I think I will use it.
We'll try it.
SPEAKER 1: It's done.
Another successful day for Specialized Racing away from
the limelight.
Tom Boonen has decided he will ride the new Roubaix in the
2012 edition of the Hell of the North, as he makes his
assault on the hardest one-day race on Earth.