Here are the stats and attributes the mysterious new Colnago V5Rs needs to have to be good enough for Pogačar

You've probably heard by now that Tadej Pogačar has been spotted on an all new Colnago bike which, judging from leaked images, is going to be called the V5Rs. Here's an overview of what we know so far, plus the specs and features we think the new bike needs to have to elevate Pog's performance even more (if that's even possible)…

What we know so far about the Colnago 'V5Rs'

Since we reported on the first leaked images of the new bike at a charity event in Monaco, further footage confirms what we predicted. This new bike is almost certainly going to be called the V5Rs, and therefore likely a direct replacement for the V4Rs. This is the all-rounder road race bike that Pogačar has used for nearly all of his races in the past three years.

Below is a shot from a video circulating on Instagram of a UAE mechanic hurriedly hiding the V5Rs logo on the frame's top tube. 

2025 Tadej Pogacar Colnago V5Rs logo (credit: Instagram @carlosaizpun_bike)

This new bike might have a slightly different remit to the V4Rs, because that bike had to be appropriate for everything from climbing the Alpe d'Huez to a bunch spring over the cobbles of Roubaix. 

Colnago Y1Rs WC livery (credit: Colnago)

Now, though, the V5Rs probably has a slightly different task, as Pog and co have recently taken delivery of the new Y1Rs (above), which is very much a fully-fledged aero bike.

Even so, it looks like there’s plenty of details on the new bike that have been influenced by the wind. The new proprietary aero seatpost for example, looks much slimmer, much less boxy and deeper than that of the one on the V4Rs. This translates into a much skinnier top tube.

Pogačar mystery bike vs Colnago V4Rs (credit: Instagram @beking_events)

Moving further back, the seat stays appear to be slightly higher and have quite a round profile. Not very aero, you might be thinking - but the Specialized Tarmac SL8 uses a similar design, and most people agree the SL8 is the all-rounder bike to beat.

It appears that because the seat stays are behind the rider's moving legs, brands can kind of get away with not making them so bladed as the fork, because it has less of an impact. 

2025 Tadej Pogacar Colnago V5Rs front view painted (credit: Instagram @carlosaizpun_bike)

Moving forwards, you can also see there’s an all new fork design. It definitely looks like there’s more clearance hiding in there, although it’s usually now the space in between the seatstays at the rear wheel which limits tyre clearance. The V4Rs already has 32mm of tyre clearance, but could this new bike go even wider than that?

What we want from the V5Rs/a race bike in 2025

2025 Tadej Pogacar Colnago V5Rs front view painted 2 (credit: Instagram @carlosaizpun_bike)

The V4Rs that Pogačar currently rides clearly isn’t slowing him down very much, but neither would we say that it’s giving him much of an advantage over his rivals.

When it launched, Colnago said the V4Rs would save you the equivalent of 17.5 watts over the V3Rs at a speed of 50 kilometres per hour. Since then though, bikes have continued to advance, and the V4Rs has been taking some absolute strays.

Tom Boonen, for example, said it was "an old-school bike" that has not "quite mastered the aero thing yet", comments he later apologised for.

2025 Tadej Pogacar Colnago V5Rs front view (credit: road.cc)

Either way, the V5Rs has to be at least as aero as the V4Rs. I'd also argue that to be a success, it needs to be on a par with the Specialized Tarmac SL8 and latest generation Trek Madone. 

Bike brands don’t tend to shout about how their bike performs against specific rivals, but Colnago was pretty thorough with its aero testing white paper when the Y1Rs launched. It claimed this bike is the fastest in the peloton, and would save you a full 20 watts at 50kph compared to the V4Rs.

2025 colnago y1rs whitepaper (credit: Colnago)

I'm sure the V5Rs will be somewhere in the middle of the V4Rs and the Y1Rs. Hitting that midpoint between the two would be a big achievement, but who knows if that's possible. 

2023 Colnago V4Rs - riding 3.jpg (credit: road.cc)

Weight

Perhaps the area that we’ll see the biggest improvement is with frame weight. As we previously said, Team UAE now have the Y1Rs for sprint stages and flat days, so the V5Rs will be relied on primarily in the mountains. 

The V4Rs is far from the lightest bike in the peloton. It has a claimed frame weight of 798 grams for a size 51cm frame, and our Dura-Ace equipped test bike (shown above) weighed in on our scales of truth at just over 7.2kg. The Tarmac SL8, meanwhile, has a frame weight a full 100 grams lighter. 

To really set the specs sheet alight, I think the V5Rs needs to have a frame weight of around the 700 gram mark. That would bring it in line with some of the lightest frames in the pro peloton, such as the Giant TCR Advanced SL.

2023 Jamie weighing bikes dauphine adam yates v4rs (credit: road.cc)

In the real world, that 100g isn’t going to make the slightest bit of difference to riders like me and you - so we hope that any gram shedding doesn’t come at the expense of stiffness, comfort or durability.

Tyre clearance

We’ll glance over tyre clearance as we touched on that earlier. 32mm would be fine, that seems about standard for race bikes at the moment, and Pogačar uses 30mm tyres which come up super wide on those Enve rims, so he’s going to need that much. Maybe it will increase to 34mm to future-proof it, but either way I reckon Pog will be on the Y1Rs at Paris–Roubaix. 

Pogačar mystery bike (credit: Instagram @beking_events)

Comfort 

Now, this is the big one. I rode the V4Rs and it was good, but I thought it was a lot harsher at the rear end than the best bikes out there. I really hope that this is something that the new skinny seat stays help with, but until we get to ride one, we just won’t know.

Proprietry-ness

Yep, I’ve just made up that word! Obviously the seatpost, like on most race bikes, is proprietary, but it is nice to see that Colnago has stuck with a standard cockpit at the front. Phew!

The Y1Rs has a radical and very non-standard front end, which is apparently very fast, but probably less convenient to live with day-to-day. I'm personally glad Colnago hasn't tried to jam a proprietary cockpit on to its less specialist bike.

Pricing and availability

The biggest thing we want from this new bike is to actually be able to buy one! We haven't seen a single Y1Rs on the road in the hands of an amateur cyclist. Someone somewhere must want one... 

On the Colnago website you can sign up to a waiting list, but even though it says in many regions the product will not be available until late March, we’re yet to see any in the wild.

Pogačar mystery bike (credit: Instagram @beking_events)

Hopefully with the V5Rs - when it officially launches - there will be enough to go around. Obviously it’s not going to be cheap, as the V4Rs that we reviewed with Dura-Ace throughout launched with a retail price of £13,000. We can’t imagine that this latest one will be any cheaper!

Let us know what you want from the V5Rs in the comments section below, and how much you reckon it will cost...