Cobbles-Tech: The Tires of Flanders

The tires seen during the month of April are rarely seen for the remainder of the season. Teams choose wide tires, often measuring as large as 28mm, in order to soften the impact and shock of riding cobbled roads in less than optimum weather conditions. The tires themselves are run at significantly lower pressure – pressures below 75psi not being unheard of.

The tires employed are often prototypes, team-only creations, or custom made tires by one of the boutique tire vendors like FMB or Dugast. Teams run the best tire for the job, even when it means not using tires supplied by their sponsor – often they’ll relabel or otherwise obscure the real origin of the tire they’re using.

Let’s take a look at some of the tire choices employed at Flanders.