Canyon Bicycles has created a special bike model for Team Silence-Lotto for use on Easter Sunday, April 12th, 2009. Already tested by Silence-Lotto riders on the roads the northern classics since the beginning of the 2009 season, the Canyon Ultimate AL Pavé will debut at Paris-Roubaix with unique graphics that pay homage to the toughest one-day race of the season, the Hell Of The North.

Canyon founder Roman Arnold explained "since I was a young racer I was always fascinated by Paris-Roubaix, with the incredible racing of Francesco Moser and Roger De Vlaeminck. When we began our sponsoring with Silence-Lotto, they asked us for special bikes for the northern classics and we were able to modify our Canyon Ultimate AL Frameset into a Pavé version, specially adapted to racing on the pavé. Since we wanted to do something special to commemorate the debut of Canyon Bicycles in Paris-Roubaix, we created special graphics that show our passion for this fantastic race. We are proud to have Canyon in Paris-Roubaix and wish the riders of Silence-Lotto, and the rest of the racers a safe and successful 106th Paris-Roubaix."

Canyon Bicycles Director of Engineering Michael Kaiser explained the genesis of the development of the Canyon Ultimate AL Pavé frameset, saying "we used our new F8 frame, built in 7005 series Ultralight Aluminum with it's unique Optisize Tubeset. This frameset has many similar characteristics of our top F10 carbon fibre frameset, like the Asymmetrical Maximus Seattube, our reliable I-Lock headset, VCLSModulation for more vertical comfort and lateral stiffness. After discussions with the Silence-Lotto team riders and technical staff, we decided on some special modifications for the Ultimate AL Pavé frameset. We are using a One-One-Four SLX fork for improved comfort and more ridigity. We have lengthened toptube by 10mm which provides a 10mm longer wheelbase for more stability and comfort."

2009 Canyon Ultimate AL Pavé.

"Other specific modifications are especially for Paris-Roubaix, such as adding additional clearance on the right chainstay so that riders can use a 46-tooth chainring. We also increased the clearance between the chainstays so a 28mm wide tire can be added," said Kaiser.

Canyon Bicycles Marketing Manager Daniel Bley added "our internal design team created some unique commemorative decals for the Paris-Roubaix version of the Canyon Ultimate AL Pavé frameset, with special pavé graphics that mirror the cobblestones on the underside of the downtube. We have placed a graphics of all the pavé sections of Paris-Roubaix on the toptube so the riders can keep track of where they are during the race, but we doubt if they will have time to look down!"