Tadej Pogacar’s bike: The Slovenian sensation’s Colnago for 2023

Tadej Pogačar is one of the biggest names in pro cycling right now, if not the biggest. He can seemingly win on any terrain at any time, already racking up a palmares that is difficult to summarise in an introduction such as this. How does this sound: Two Tour de France general classification victories, one of which made him the youngest winner since 1904, and a second place in 2022.

He also picked up two climbers’ jerseys in the process, and has also won three monuments (two at Lombardy, one at Liege-Bastogne-Liege), plus wins on the more spicy terrain of Strada Bianche. He’s the only rider in history to break the 6,000-point barrier for UCI ranking points too, and even dabbles in cyclocross on occasion (naturally he also wins here, too), and is part of what is regularly being called ‘the new generation’ of riders, along with Wout van Aert, Matthieu Van der Poel, Remco Evenepoel, Tom Pidcock, et al. Given this impressive rap sheet, it’s no wonder his Wikipedia page contains a section entitled “Comparisons with Eddy Merckx”.

It’s also no wonder that people are curious about Tadej Pogačar’s bike, so let’s look at what this 66kg rocketship is riding, and how he sets his machine up. Fortunately for you, while attending the launch of the new Colnago V4Rs, we snuck behind the scenes at the UAE Team Emirates makeshift service course at the team’s winter training camp and got an in-depth look at Pogačar’s race bike for the 2023 season. There’s a raft of new equipment compared to his 2022 bike, so get your notepads out and pay attention at the back.

What is Tadej Pogačar’s bike for 2023? Pogačar and the rest of UAE Team Emirates ride the Colnago V4Rs. It’s the Italian brand’s only dedicated high-level race bike. This year, there has been a number of component swaps.

The groupset is now Shimano Dura-Ace, the wheels from Enve, and the tyres from Continental. At its launch, Pogačar had nothing but positive things to say about his new bike: “For sure the Colnago V4Rs is more stiff and more responsive. When you stand up you feel a better response, better reacting [sic].

For sure this helps in the peloton in the fast races and when attacking and sprinting. This was for me the biggest change from the V3Rs. “However, it unwittingly entered the limelight when retired Classics rider Tom Boonen controversially claimed that Colnago wasn’t on the same level as the bike brands ridden by Pogacar’s rivals.

Naturally, Colnago disagreed, calling Boonen’s claims unsubstantiated. Somewhat ironically, on that very same day, Pogačar obliterated his rivals on the Stage 4 summit finish of Paris-Nice. What size is Tadej Pogačar’s bike? At 1.

77m tall, Pogačar is likely to be riding an approximately 54cm frameset. Colnago does sizing a little differently though. We believe he’s using a ‘485’ frame, which is a little smaller than is perhaps ideal for a customer of his height but allows him to run a longer stem, especially with the saddle pushed far forwards.

Again, we can’t know the stem size for sure, but it looks to us in the region of 130-140mm. Tadej Pogačar’s Colnago V4Rs Specifications At the heart of any race bike is the frameset. In this case, it’s the Colnago V4Rs, the pro-leaning spur of Colnago’s upper echelon of road bikes (the C68 being aimed at amateurs).

It’s an evolution of the old V3Rs, via an intermediate ‘Prototipo’ prototype stage, and at a glance not a great deal has changed. It’s the usual mix of lighter, stiffer and more aero, as we always come to expect with a new bike. It’s the only race bike UAE Team Emirates will be using, outside of time trials, as Colnago doesn’t make an aero road bike as other manufacturers do.

The paint job is similar to the Prototipo, unsurprisingly given they’re effectively the same bike, and it’s noticably more pared back than the already spartan paintwork on the V3Rs team bikes. Paint weighs a lot, so from a racing perspective, the more you can leave as bare carbon the better; it doesn’t exactly set the heart racing though. While the frame is new, UAE have all new equipment sponsors for 2023 too, so when we borrowed this bike, the mechanics were fervently fettling in the makeshift service course getting all the new gear ready.

The two most noticeable changes are to the wheels and drivetrain. The locomotion and stopping power is handled by Shimano now, rather than Campagnolo, so naturally that means a Dura-Ace Di2 setup, with dual-sided power meter, and in this case, 54/40t chainrings. 172.

5mm cranks arms remain, but at the end of them are Dura-Ace pedals rather than his set of Look Keo Blade II pedals. The wheels then? Gone are the extremely flashy Campagnolo Bora Ultras. In their place comes a set of Enve 45s.

These aren’t the top-end set from the American brand, so we expect when the time comes to pin on a race number, Pogačar and the rest of the team will instead be using the SES 4. 5, or a different depth from Enve’s SES range depending on the terrain. Here they are shod with Continental GP500 TR tubeless-ready tyres, but as these seem to be the ‘training wheels’, the mechanics haven’t set them up tubeless, opting for tried and tested inner tubes instead, with a strip of tape to stop the valves rattling.

The one-piece cockpit is similar to what we’ve previously seen on Pogačar’s Prototipo; a single monocoque construction with a slim frontal area and truncated aerofoil rear. As with Remco Evenepoel’s bike and Michael Matthews’ bike, the brake hoods are turned inwards to allow a narrower, more aero position. Pogačar is also using a new saddle for this season, swapping from the Prologo M5 Scratch to the brand’s Dimension model, and slammed forward in the seat clamp beyond the recommended limit to allow him to get further over the front of the bike.

Elite bottle cages, Colnago bar tape, and a Wahoo computer (not pictured) round out what is an understated build for a rider so prone to occupying the top step of the podium. The makeshift service course was a hive of activity as Pogačar’s bike was balanced against a pedal stand for our photographs (Image credit: Will Jones) We weren’t allowed to weigh it, but Colnago says the bike, in a similar spec, will hit the legal minimum of 6. 8kg.

This is in line with the usual weight of a Tour de France bike. (Image credit: Will Jones) The model name, following in sequence from the V3Rs, is V4Rs. If you’re wondering how much a Tour de France bike costs, we have a full feature covering various examples.

A Team Edition of this bike is available at the cost of EUR 15,260. (Image credit: Will Jones) This could be the very bike Pogačar rides to Tour de France success in 2023. A lot of training effort, and a bit of luck stands between now and that happening, though.

(Image credit: Will Jones) One of the biggest changes for 2023 is the team’s switch from Campagnolo to Shimano. (Image credit: Will Jones) This sees a swap from Campagnolo’s Super Record EPS 12 groupset – seen here on Pogačar’s 2022 Tour de France bike – to Shimano’s Dura-Ace Di2 12 (the 12 denoting the number of gears on the cassette) (Image credit: Will Jones) The 54-40 denotes the number of teeth on the two chainrings. It is possible to swap the inner chainring to something different, so it’s not a guarantee that he’s running a 40T here.

A smaller chainring would be easier to turn, and with mountains nearby in Alicante, there’s a chance he’s gone smaller. (Image credit: Will Jones) At the back, the 12-speed Shimano Dura-Ace cassette looks to be an 11-30T, with a Dura-Ace chain too (Image credit: Will Jones) Another huge change for 2023 is the swap away from Campagnolo’s wheels in favour of American brand Enve (Image credit: Will Jones) Fitted here at the training camp are Enve 45 wheels, formerly known as Foundation 45. However, when racing commences, he’ll almost certainly switch to the lighter, more aerodynamic – and more expensive – Enve SES 4.

5 wheels. (Image credit: Will Jones) Here’s a wider look at those wheels (Image credit: Will Jones) There’s also a swap from Pirelli tyres to Continental (Image credit: Will Jones) Continental’s best road bike tyre at the moment is the GP5000 S TR, and it looks as though Pogačar is currently using inner tubes instead of tubeless. In doing this, mechanics have fitted tape around the valve to stop it rattling (Image credit: Will Jones) Up front, the cockpit is made by Colnago, not Deda like the last bike (Image credit: Will Jones) Richard Mille isn’t a bike manufacturer, nor a cockpit manufacturer, but a team sponsor whose expertise lies in designer watches.

Keep an eye out on Pogačar’s wrist and you might spot him sporting one during occasional races. Julian Alaphilippe wears them too, on occasion. (Image credit: Will Jones) At the front of the cockpit lies an out-front mount with an adaptor for a Wahoo computer; a change from the SRM computers the team have used in recent years.

This is different to the integrated aero mount that can be bought for the new Colnago, so perhaps that’s too heavy for Pogačar, or perhaps it’s unavailable right now. (Image credit: Will Jones) His crank length is 172. 5mm, which is quite standard for his height, though some riders choose to go shorter for comfort reasons (Image credit: Will Jones) The Elite Custom Race Plus are a favourite among pro teams.

They are carbon fibre, and weigh around 40g each (Image credit: Will Jones) A threaded bottom bracket is typically easier to maintain than pressfit. It’s also less likely to go out of alignment and cause creaking (Image credit: Will Jones) Each team has the rider’s name – usually accompanied by their national flag – printed onto every bike. This is to help mechanics and riders find the correct bike among a sea of usually-identical bikes that only differ by size and fit.

(Image credit: Will Jones) Despite the availability of narrower handlebars, Pogačar has turned his shifter hoods inward to make them slightly closer together. This is said to put the rider in a narrower more aerodynamic position, but it can also help with comfort. (Image credit: Will Jones) The top of the bars are a flat, aerodynamic shape, with a rounded leading edge and a squared-off rear face.

This will have been tested extensively in the wind tunnel and optimised for aerodynamics (Image credit: Will Jones) The Colnago seatpost features a small indentation. This could help the post flex under the rider’s weight, but Colnago doesn’t say. If nothing else, it provides a neat placement for the gold Colnago logo.

(Image credit: Will Jones) The ‘Club’ logo has been seen on Colnago bikes for decades. (Image credit: Will Jones) Pogačar has switched saddles for 2023. He previously used the Prologo M5 Scratch, but now he’s using a Prologo Dimension with the ‘PAS’ cutout down the centre (Image credit: Will Jones) Colnago makes a seatpost with 0mm offset but for now at least, Pogačar’s saddle is slammed as far forward on the rails as possible, past the recommended limit of the rails.

(Image credit: Will Jones) History For an already storied rider, Pogačar has an extremely simple bike history, having been with UAE Team Emirates his whole professional career. The only real changes have been which model Colnago he was using in any given year. Tadej Pogačar’s 2022 Colnago Prototipo In many respects this is a very similar bike to Pogačar’s 2023 V4Rs.

After all, it is the prototype on which the current model was based, so the frameset, seatpost, and cockpit are all functionally identical, though the cockpit here is a Deda model rather than the Colnago CC. 01 unit of the V4Rs; we can’t dive into the carbon layup because however nicely we ask the team mechanics are always reluctant to let us saw a team bike in half. In many other respects, this is a different beast.

A Campagnolo Super-Record EPS 12-speed groupset deals with shifting and braking, mated to a spider-based SRM power meter, communicating with an SRM computer at the bars. Look pedals and a Prologo Scratch saddle are different contact points for Pogačar, and the bike is connected to the road by 26mm Pirelli P-Zero Race tyres. The same beating heart of the bike then, but a different set of organs (to stretch the anatomy metaphor a little too far to be comfortable).

At it’s heart this is functionally the same bike as Pogačar’s 2023 Colnago V4Rs (Image credit: Josh Croxton) Prototype UCI stickers show it’s still in development ta this point in time though, so doesn’t need to be registered in the same way (Image credit: Josh Croxton) A different saddle last season, but still from Prologo (Image credit: Josh Croxton) While we have seen Pogačar using a separate bar and stem at time, it seems this Deda Alanera model was his preferred setup (Image credit: Josh Croxton) Here an SRM power meter measure his watts, though it does mean it replaces the distinctive Super Record spider (Image credit: Josh Croxton) As well as covering the drivetrain, Campagnolo supplied the instantly recognisable Bora Ultra wheelset (Image credit: Josh Croxton) Tadej Pogačar’s 2021 Colnago V3Rs Have you really won the Tour de France if you don’t get a commemorative yellow bike? Technically yes, but the winners of any grand tour nowadays always get their hands on a colour-matched frameset and usually some equipment here too. Here the Colnago V3Rs frameset is blocked out with yellow sections, along with yellow Colnago logos. Yellow Look pedals and yellow bar tape complete what is again quite a subtle winner’s build compared to others we’ve seen in the past.

Much the same componentry as we’ve seen on the Prototipo, but here it’s kitting out a commemorative Tour de France Winner’s bike (Image credit: PhotoFizza, UAE Team Emirates) Yellow bar tape and logos round out what was a relatively subdued yellow edition bike (Image credit: PhotoFizza, UAE Team Emirates) Discs here, and in the 2021 Tour, Pogačar spent 19 of the 21 stages with discs, flitting only to rim brakes for the two biggest mountain days (Image credit: PhotoFizza, UAE Team Emirates) Tadej Pogačar’s 2020 Colnago V3Rs Pogačar’s bike has had something of a slow evolution. Before swapping to the 2023 equipment he was using the old gear on the new prototype frame. Back in 2020 he was on both the older V3Rs frame and the Campagnolo build.

The frameset is similar in its ideals to the V4Rs; to be a single race bike capable of winning everywhere. Here though there’s a T-shaped top tube rather than the smooth one of the V4Rs. The geometry is tweaked too; the V3Rs has a shorter reach than the current bike, which was lengthened to allow the riders to achieve a more stretched-out, aero position.

The chainstays here for the V3Rs are longer too, keeping the same wheelbase in an attempt to normalise the handling characteristics across the two models. This year, he typically used a rim brake model, but for the crosswind stages in the middle section of the race, he went with disc brakes. One step back in the evolution: The same frameset as his yellow bike, but standard team paint and a different power meter (Image credit: John Wakefield / UAE Team Emirates) Gone is the SRM power meter, replaced by a single sided Stages unit inside the non drive side crank arm.

Fans of this lovely spider can rejoice (Image credit: John Wakefield / UAE Team Emirates) Again, disc brakes can be seen here, but Pogačar often opted for rim brakes in key stages to save weight and allow faster wheel changes (Image credit: John Wakefield / UAE Team Emirates).