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Tadej Pogačar suffered his first Tour de France defeat last year: after two wins in as many entries, 2022 saw a disappointing (to him) second place. Twelve months on, he is back to campaign for his third Tour de France victory; judging by his bike, he and his team have left no stone unturned in the tech department.
Pogačar’s bike features several interesting updates, and although he hasn’t really gone sponsor-rogue with anything other than the seat post, his bike build is fascinating nonetheless.
Pogačar is racing on the new-ish Colnago V4Rs “aero-light” all-rounder. The bike is equipped with a Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 groupset (mostly), Enve wheels and cockpit, a Darimo seatpost, Continental tyres, Carbon-Ti components and a Prologo saddle. Unfortunately, the team wouldn’t let us weigh Pog’s bike. But given our V4RS test bike in for review weighs circa 7.3 kg and Pog’s bike is smaller, plus has all the weight-saving measures, suggest this bike is likely to be slightly lighter than that. ENVE has worked with UAE Team Emirates to develop a new one-piece handlebar for Pogačar. The bar is an adaptation of the existing SES Aero Road Handlebar, with geometry tweaks based on Tadej’s input. The design project began in January, with the final bar delivered to the team just ahead of the Tour. Very little is known of the new bars right now, but we will bring you more details as we have them. Rumour has it they are handmade in Enve’s Utah HQ.What we can tell is the bars have an aero profiled top section, deep drops, standard-looking reach, and no, that is not a Richard Mille stem.A 3D-printed headset top cap. Carbon-Ti headset screw with a claimed weight of 2.3 g. A sprint shifter on each drop. Pog’s bike was equipped with Enve SES 4.5 wheels. With 49 and 55 mm-deep hookless rims and 32 mm external rim widths, Enve says the wheels are optimised for 27-28 mm tyres. Interestingly, Pogačar is riding Continental’s new GP 5000 TT TR 28 mm tyre. Presumably originally intended for time trial stages, many Conti-equipped teams have been using the TT TR since the start of this season for its lower rolling resistance and weight.“Don’t try this at home”… Pog’s 28 mm tyres on the Enve 25 mm internal width rims is not a great idea, according to the ETRTO, who recommend a tyre no smaller than 29 mm with 25 mm internal rims. Remember that UCI Equipment Register Process? This is the RFID tag applied to all frames by the UCI staff ahead of this year’s Tour de France. Not to be confused with the Colnago blockchain thing-a-ma-giggy providing Colnago owners with proof of validity and ownership. Pogačar is racing with Shimano’s Dura-Ace R9200-P power meter, having previously raced with Stages and SRM power meters in recent years. More interestingly, though, Pogačar is also racing with Carbon-Ti 54/40 chainrings. I am not sure how much weight, if any, these save compared with standard Dura-Ace chainrings, but they look proper weight-weenie.170 mm crankarms for Pogačar.3D-printed bolt covers smooth the transition from the Shimano cranks onto the Carbon-Ti chainrings. Presumably the covers simply push into the chainring bolt holes and perhaps provide some tiny aero gain.Shimano Dura-Ace pedals for Pog.Pogačar is also using Carbon-Ti disc rotors. Clearly, Team UAE-Emirates are purchasing their Shimano equipment. Shimano-sponsored teams are usually required to use Shimano components exclusively and also saddles, bars, and stems from Shimano’s components wing, PRO. Spanish brand Darimo specialise in lightweight carbon components and offer a range of “non-round aero” seatposts to fit a host of bikes. The Darimo posts are typically significantly lighter than the stock seatpost and a true weight-weenie special. Pogačar has had a custom Prologo Scratch for several seasons. Will Pogačar race this bike back to the top step in Paris?
