In September, two new Cross Country Marathon (XCM) World Champions were crowned in Graechen, Switzerland. The demanding routes for men and women saw both riders arrive at the finish line solo – the course was truly decisive. But what bikes were the riders racing on to win the XCM World Championships?
With Pauline Ferrand-Prevot racing for Canyon, we know she opted to race on the full-suspension Lux. And Hector Leonardo Paez Leon races on Giant bikes via the Giant-Liv Polimedical team, and we was racing on a Giant Anthem. But neither of these bikes were stock. Here’s what we can pick from the photos.
Pauline Ferrand Prevot’s Canyon Lux at the XCM World Championships
One of the first times we saw a Canyon Lux in action was the at opening UCI XCO World Cup in 2018, in Stellenbosch. The Canyon Lux was under wraps but it was also out in the open as well. The small bike that Ferrand-Prevot rides has 100mm of suspension front and rear.
Looking at the bike that Ferrand Prevot raced on there are a few differences. Firstly she has the new RockShox SID Ultimate with updated internals – but it also works on a dual remote with the RockShox rear shock. A SRAM TwistLoc is used.
PFP has also had a SRAM Eagle AXS upgrade, meaning she had wireless shifting for the race across the 10-50 cassette.
You can see that PFP has a Quarq power meter fitted, and what looks to be a 32t chain ring – but that is unconfirmed. It’s a solid alloy rim that helps give more accurate data. Other bike checks have suggested the bike weighs 10.1kg, and without any major changes we can assume it would be the same as pictured.
What is interesting is that Ferrand Prevot has put a KS Lev Ci dropper post in, eschewing the RockShox AXS post – most likely due to lower weight and potentially to keep a better lock out lever for her suspension. But the AXS dropper also has limited lengths and her small Canyon is unlikely to fit the longer drop models offered by SRAM.
Her bars look wide but would still be 700mm or less as she is tiny, and grips appear to be Ritchey foam. The bars don’t have any branding but the large weave suggests they aren’t stock Canyon bars.
PFP also rides on Duke Lucky Jack rims – as wider is better. Tyres are Schwalbe with a Thunder Burt on the back for fast rolling and what looks to be a Racing Ralph on the front. Rotors are 160mm. All in all not crazily different to her bike for XCO – and clearly just right for the XCM World Championship.
Hector Leon Leonardo Paez’ Giant Anthem Advanced SL
So while Ferrand-Prevot’s bike has a few cool little items that are different to stock – Paez’ bike has lots of cool bits.
The Giant Anthem Advanced SL 29er has a Fox Factory 32 SC up front for 100mm of travel. The rear shock appears to be a DT Swiss unit, and Paez has a dual lock out setup, using an over the bar lever on the left.
Cranks are SRM carbon, for light weight (599g), stiffness and probably the best data acquisition around!
With a SRAM Eagle shifter and derailleur, Paez uses a Leonardi General Lee 9-48 cassette, for 533% range. The cassette weighs 345g.
In the cockpit Paez has a slammed Syntace FlatForce stem. Bars and stem are from Leonardi, using the Luke handlebar.
Brakes are the plainly named Braking brand on 160mm rotors. They’re said to be strong enough for eMTB use as well! The wheels are stickered up as CYPwheels, who look to do hubs and wheel builds. Whether they are FRM hubs, or Bitex hubs laced to shallow carbon rims we can’t tell. But they are Maxxis Aspen tyres front and rear.
CYPwheels appear to support a number of riders, but don’t really list rims on their website. Their Facebook page says they are the Lrace carbon rim. Good luck finding more details!
Grips are ESI silicone or similar, and pedals are Xpedo M-Force 8 – probably the Ti models. It also looks like a Specialized SWAT cage to hold a multitool.
Ok, so this isn’t a highly detailed bike check for the winners of the XCM World Championships. Paez was whisked away, but this is far from your normal Giant Anthem, and more than many riders bikes it has a cool mix of trick parts and standard items.
Images sourced from the internet mostly – thank you!