2011 Tour of Flanders: Fabian Cancellara’s fork

In the days before the Tour of Flanders both soigneurs and mechanics put in long hours. Unseasonably warm (and dry) weather kept a smile on everyone's face.

Fabian stopped by while I was shooting his bike. What he's trying to hide in his left hand are the chocolates he grabbed just prior to the Leopard press conference. In the background are prototype Bontrager wheels.

Roger Theel, Cancellara's mechanic, had already swapped the number hanger from his Di2 bike. The dirt is from the morning's training.

Leopard-Trek is using custom K-Edges this classics season.

Cancellara rides stainless steel Speedplay pedals. These have a bit of wear.

Spartacus spins 175mm Shimano SRM cranks.

If conditions take a turn for the worse, Cancellara and his Leopard-Trek teammates will use these team-only Speedplays.

Cancellara rides a deep-drop anatomic aluminum bar.

A white 14cm Bontrager XXX Lite carbon stem keeps Fabian pointed in the right direction.

Road grime and some serious brake pad wear show that Theel hadn't worked on the bike just yet.

Cancellara likes a lot of setback. His 58cm Madone has a 73 degree seat tube. Even with a setback seat mast, his saddle is slammed.

Here's Fabian's new fork. It has 45mm of rake and is taken from one of Trek's smaller frames (54cm and below use 45mm offset forks, 56cm and up use 40mm).

Park cutting guide in place. Cancellara's stem sits on the headset.

Theel hacking away. He took his time to avoid splintering.

A bit of clean-up and the stem is installed.

Adjusting headset preload.

Make sure the stem is straight and the headset is properly adjusted. In the background Ben Coates (in white) builds a new bike for team manager Brian Nygaard. Rune Kristensen, another team mechanic, was busy organizing the truck.

Lastly, tighten the stem to lock it all in place. (and no, Theel did not use a torque wrench — let the comments begin!) Just like that, Fabian has a new fork.

Hennie Stamsnijder, Shimano Europe, and Ben Coates, Trek team liaison, were both at the Leopard-Trek camp getting the team ready for the big weekend ahead.