INFLITE CARRIES VAN DER POEL, BACKSTEDT AND DEL GROSSO TO GOLD AT CYCLOCROSS WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

While Mathieu van der Poel may have stolen the headlines with his sixth Cyclocross World Championship title - making it five in a row on the Canyon Inflite for the Dutchman - he shares his success with two other gold-winning Canyon athletes, Great Britain’s Zoe Backstedt and Tibor del Grosso, who rides for the Netherlands.

Van der Poel put on another masterclass display, flying around the Tabor course aboard his lightning-fast pearl white Inflite CFR to make it 13 wins from 14 this season. In the Under-23 categories del Grosso and Bäckstedt added rainbow jerseys to their palmares by winning male and female titles respectively.

All three riders raced on the latest Inflite CFR, which received an upgrade in 2023 to make it one of the sleekest and fastest cyclocross bikes ever built. Its super-clean silhouette, with a kinked top-tube for shouldering the bike, is enhanced by internal cable routing through the CP0018 sleek-profile Aerocockpit and forks, leaving no exposed cables to get snagged in the mid-race melee.

Its sleek lines are matched by its world-beating performance features. The Inflite CFR comes with tuneable handling in the shape of its 40 mm width-adjustable cockpit as well as 15 mm of height adjustment in the stem so riders like Mathieu, Zoe and Tibor can also easily adapt the Inflite CFR’s CP0018 Aerocockpit to meet the demands of their next race – wider for more leverage on tight courses, narrower for aero gains. And they can switch as often as they need between setups, because the cockpit is fast and simple to adjust with no cutting required.

The Inflite CFR’s World Championship intentions are complemented by the highest-level componentry choices. The retail version comes equipped with a premium Ceramic Speed bottom bracket for hard-wearing, fast-spinning performance that lasts, rounded out with component sets that spare no expense.

The Shimano-equipped Inflite CFR Di2 Team (€7,499) comes fitted with Shimano’s latest and greatest 12-speed 9200-series Dura-Ace Di2 shifting with a cross-optimised 36/46 chainset, an 11-34 cassette, and a super-accurate crank-integrated Rotor Aldhu 24 Inspider power meter. Alternatively, the Inflite CFR Team LTD (€7,499) uses a fully wireless one-by SRAM Red setup (40-tooth chainring, 10-36 cassette) with a crank-integrated Quarq power meter. Both models feature the same premium DT Swiss CRC 1100 wheels and Canyon’s own premium shock-absorbing S14 carbon comfort seatpost.

Alongside the two pro-level Inflite CFR models, two CF SLX bikes and a CF SL option make the Inflite’s benchmark performance available to aspiring racers, from grassroots to elite levels. 

Mathieu van der Poel, who has now taken the Inflite to five Cyclocross World Championships, was vocal in his praise for the bike: “The Inflite’s handling is beautifully predictable... something I really appreciate in a race bike,” states cyclocross’ leading athlete.

With Mathieu’s five wins, the two new Under-23 titles for Tibor del Grosso and Zoe Bäckstedt, Ceylin del Carmen Alvarado’s 2020 World Championship win, Puck Pieterse’s 2023 Dutch National Championship title, and multiple UCI World Cup race wins, the Inflite CFR continues to set the stratospheric standard for all other cyclocross bikes to follow.