In spite of all of the advancements in tubeless cyclocross technology, it’s probably not surprising to find that most pros still run tubulars. Considering they have their own mechanic to work their mastik magic and access to enough wheelsets to make changing tires a matter of choosing a different wheel, tubulars aren’t going anywhere in the near future.
That made us wonder – what tubular would a Maxxis sponsored team be using? As it turns out, most of their riders were on blacked out tubulars from other companies. But from the looks of things, Maxxis will have their own tubular options for their racers very soon…
Hiding in plain sight in the Maxxis Shimano team tent, this prototype was built with the Raze tread pattern on a tubular casing. Maxxis confirmed that the team was indeed in the testing process and were riding Maxxis prototypes earlier in the week.
The tires bore the tell tale prototype hot patch, along with tubular and 28″ x 33mm markings.
Whether it was due to the muddier conditions on Sunday, or simply the team not wanting to run new to them tires on race day, Team Maxxis Shimano were still running other tubulars on course. Riding on their new (as in 2 or 3 days) Parlee frames, Team riders Yannick Eckmann rode his way to a top 10 finish, while Danny Summerhill finished in 17th.
maxxis.com