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During L'Étape du Tour, one of the world's most demanding cyclosportives, content creator Florian Chabbal—founder of the YouTube channel La Pause Vélo—took on a challenge that was, to say the least, unique: to ride the entire race on a wooden bike.
Source: Press Release
For this experiment, he chose a Gonnel Alliage, the road bike model developed by Ateliers Gonnel, a company based in La Rochelle that specializes in designing wooden frames. A real-world test on a particularly demanding course, culminating at the summit of Alpe d’Huez, just a few days before the Tour de France professionals passed through.
A wooden bike that challenges conventional wisdom
The goal of this collaboration went far beyond a simple publicity stunt. The aim was to demonstrate that a frame made from a natural material can offer performance comparable to that of today’s top-of-the-line carbon models, while maintaining precise handling, stiffness, and reliability.
Before the start, however, Florian Chabbal admits he approached this challenge with some skepticism. Convinced that a wooden bike would inevitably be less performant than a high-end carbon model, he had even adjusted his time goal accordingly. But his impressions quickly changed within the first few kilometers: “Overall, this bike is a wonderful surprise!” At high speeds, he explains that the feel is similar to that of a carbon bike. On the first climbs, he highlights the frame’s responsiveness—even with all the gear mounted—before describing the Gonnel as a “little speedster.” As the kilometers went by, he also highlighted the bike’s comfort, noting that it helped him endure the effort better and minimize soreness after the race.
A Faster Time Than Expected
Despite a start he deemed too ambitious and race management he himself described as “catastrophic,” Florian Chabbal completed L’Étape du Tour in under eight hours of riding—a time faster than his initial goal.
A performance that, in his view, demonstrates that the supposed disadvantage of a wooden frame compared to carbon is greatly overestimated—or even nonexistent in this context.
From elite cyclist to content creator
A native of Ariège, Florian Chabbal discovered cycling at the Foix velodrome before making a name for himself on the road. As a junior international with the French national team, he rode alongside Pierre Rolland, Tony Gallopin, and Anthony Roux before ending his competitive career at just 21 to pursue his studies.
He later returned to the world of cycling as a journalist at Eurosport, then became one of the hosts of the French-language channel Global Cycling Network (GCN) alongside Loïc Chetout. Now based in Sicily, he runs his own media outlet, La Pause Vélo, where he shares his passion for cycling year-round through reviews, reports, and challenges.
You can find the profile we dedicated to him HERE.
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