A detailed look at Tadej Pogacar's all-new prototype Colnago bike
Disc brakes and clincher tyres in use so far, but will he switch to rim brakes for the mountains?
After the first week of racing at the Tour de France, one of the major headlines is just how dominant Tadej Pogačar looks to be.
With a powerful time trial on stage 1, a storming ride on the cobbles of stage 5, and back-to-back wins on stage 6 and then stage 7 atop La Super Planche des Belles Filles, it appears he is unbeatable on any terrain.
The two-time Tour de France winner has a new bike this summer, the Colnago Prototipo, which he's used for each and every road stage so far.
The quite-literally named Prototipo is, according to Colnago, actually one of five moulds being tested by the team. With rider feedback, it will eventually narrow the five down to a single final construction that will be made available to the public, presumably as a V4RS to replace the V3RS, the brand's existing lightweight semi-aero race bike.
During both of his 2020 and 2021 victories at the Tour, the V3RS was Pogačar's bike of choice, but notably, he had two different versions available.
In 2020, for the most part, he rode a rim brake model, only switching to disc brakes on the flatter days. In 2021, that script was flipped, and he primarily rode with discs, but the rim brake bike came out to play in the high mountains.
Cyclingnews understands that in 2022, thanks to the advancements of this new bike, the Slovenian will use the disc brake equipped Prototipo on all available stages. If that turns out to be the case and he continues his dominance to take a third consecutive yellow, this will be the first Tour in history to be won purely on discs.
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Ahead of the Grand Départ, we were lucky enough to get up close and personal with the new bike, and naturally, we got the camera out to bring you the details. So grab a coffee, scroll down and join us for a detailed look at the bike that's currently dominating the race.
Frame | Colnago Prototipo |
Groupset | Campagnolo Super Record EPS 12 |
Brakes | Campagnolo Super Record |
Wheelset | Campagnolo Bora WTO 45 |
Tyres | Pirelli P Zero Race |
Handlebar | Deda Alanera one-piece cockpit |
Stem | Deda Alanera one-piece cockpit |
Chainset | Campagnolo Super Record |
Power meter | SRM Origin |
Pedals | Look Keo Blade Carbon Ceramic |
Saddle | Prologo Scratch M5 Tadej Pogačar edition |
Bottle cages | Elite Leggero Carbon |
Bottles | Elite Fly UAE Team Emirates |
Bar tape | Deda |
Computer | SRM PC8 |
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As the Tech Editor here at Cyclingnews, Josh leads on content relating to all-things tech, including bikes, kit and components in order to cover product launches and curate our world-class buying guides, reviews and deals. Alongside this, his love for WorldTour racing and eagle eyes mean he's often breaking tech stories from the pro peloton too.
On the bike, 32-year-old Josh has been riding and racing since his early teens. He started out racing cross country when 26-inch wheels and triple chainsets were still mainstream, but he found favour in road racing in his early 20s and has never looked back. He's always training for the next big event and is keen to get his hands on the newest tech to help. He enjoys a good long ride on road or gravel, but he's most alive when he's elbow-to-elbow in a local criterium.