The new Canyon Ultimate CFR was spotted on the Movistar team bus at the Criterium du Dauphiné.

The Ultimate, which Enric Mas will ride in today's mountain stage, is Canyon's lightweight climbing bike alongside the heavier, more aerodynamic Aeroad and the more comfortable Endurace.

This sighting comes just days after the wild new Trek Madone was also spotted in the same race. Compared to its predecessor, it has undergone a complete overhaul and redesign, including a radical seatpost design with holes drilled into the seat tube. The Canyon Ultimate, which was sighted this time around, has more subtle changes.

The big news is that it appears to mimic what Canyon did with the Aeroad by incorporating a quill-style stem into the aero cockpit design. In addition, the stem and top appear to be decoupled from the hood and drop to allow the cockpit to be adjusted to the same width. Like the Airload, the outside of the handlebar can be slid in three positions (or removed altogether) to switch between three preset widths. It is not known which setting the mass bikes have.

Other changes appear in the seat post and seat tube area. Previously, the seat tube was cut slightly to follow the curve of the rear wheel, but this is no longer the case. In this case, the seat tube appears straight from the bottom bracket to the top tube. The gap to the rear wheel also appears to be slightly larger, which may be due to either a more forward position of the seat tube or longer chainstays. Either way, tire clearance is larger than the previous 32 mm.

Apart from this, the new Ultimate appears to have a D-shaped seatpost, whereas the previous model had a rounded Canyon S13 VCLS CF post.

The dropped seatstays are the same as before, and the seatpost clamp is also accommodated, along with a compensating triangle in front of this junction. Meanwhile, the "CFR" branding on the top of the top tube confirms that this is the brand's highest spec carbon fiber.

Otherwise, a slight edge can be seen on the fork crown as one moves downward. The reason for this is not certain. It could be aerodynamic play, or it could be the result of widening the fork width to accommodate wider tires. Looking at the tire clearance image below, our guess is the latter.