How the pros set up their stems and handlebars

<source media="(max-width: 320px)" srcset="https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1399194282980-1wncg9jj5jrz9-1000-100-0b0fd6e.jpg?quality=90&resize=160%2C208, https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1399194282980-1wncg9jj5jrz9-1000-100-0b0fd6e.jpg?quality=45&resize=320%2C416 2x, https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1399194282980-1wncg9jj5jrz9-1000-100-0b0fd6e.jpg?quality=45&resize=480%2C624 3x, https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1399194282980-1wncg9jj5jrz9-1000-100-0b0fd6e.jpg?quality=45&resize=512%2C666 4x" type="image/jpeg"> <source media="(max-width: 375px)" srcset="https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1399194282980-1wncg9jj5jrz9-1000-100-0b0fd6e.jpg?quality=90&resize=190%2C247, https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1399194282980-1wncg9jj5jrz9-1000-100-0b0fd6e.jpg?quality=45&resize=380%2C494 2x, https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1399194282980-1wncg9jj5jrz9-1000-100-0b0fd6e.jpg?quality=45&resize=512%2C666 3x" type="image/jpeg"> <source media="(max-width: 425px)" srcset="https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1399194282980-1wncg9jj5jrz9-1000-100-0b0fd6e.jpg?quality=90&resize=215%2C279, https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1399194282980-1wncg9jj5jrz9-1000-100-0b0fd6e.jpg?quality=45&resize=430%2C559 2x, https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1399194282980-1wncg9jj5jrz9-1000-100-0b0fd6e.jpg?quality=45&resize=513%2C666 3x" type="image/jpeg"> <source media="(max-width: 992px)" srcset="https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1399194282980-1wncg9jj5jrz9-1000-100-0b0fd6e.jpg?quality=90&resize=136%2C176, https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1399194282980-1wncg9jj5jrz9-1000-100-0b0fd6e.jpg?quality=45&resize=272%2C353 2x, https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1399194282980-1wncg9jj5jrz9-1000-100-0b0fd6e.jpg?quality=45&resize=408%2C530 3x, https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1399194282980-1wncg9jj5jrz9-1000-100-0b0fd6e.jpg?quality=45&resize=512%2C666 4x" type="image/jpeg"> <source media="(min-width: 993px)" srcset="https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1399194282980-1wncg9jj5jrz9-1000-100-0b0fd6e.jpg?quality=90&resize=155%2C201, https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1399194282980-1wncg9jj5jrz9-1000-100-0b0fd6e.jpg?quality=45&resize=310%2C403 2x, https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1399194282980-1wncg9jj5jrz9-1000-100-0b0fd6e.jpg?quality=45&resize=465%2C604 3x, https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1399194282980-1wncg9jj5jrz9-1000-100-0b0fd6e.jpg?quality=45&resize=512%2C666 4x" type="image/jpeg"> <img class="wp-image-331254 size-portrait_thumbnail image-handler__image image-handler__image--aspect no-wrap js-gallery-grid-src-image" src="https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/21/2019/03/1399194282980-1wncg9jj5jrz9-1000-100-0b0fd6e.jpg?quality=90&resize=512%2C666" width="556" height="723" data-crop-width="" data-crop-height="" alt="Luca Paolini (Katusha) had a Shimano Dura-Ace climber shift button mounted for the stage to Elmali. Got a decent degree of negative rise in that stem too" title="1399194282980-1wncg9jj5jrz9-1000-100-0b0fd6e" style="width: auto; height: 100%;"> Luca Paolini (Katusha) had a Shimano Dura-Ace climber shift button mounted for the stage to Elmali. Got a decent degree of negative rise in that stem too Sam Dansie/BikeRadar

Road bike cockpit set-ups are an intensely personal thing. Stem length, reach, drop, lever position – even handlebar tape – all require some consideration.

We checked what some of the pros were doing at the Presidential Tour of Turkey and saw a huge variety in the cockpit set-up. Scroll through our gallery to check out some extreme variation: from Guillaume Boivan’s (Cannondale) highly aggressive position with a huge degree of drop to Adrian Kurek’s (CCC Polsat Polkowice) crazy spacing.