Has Tadej Pogačar been spotted riding Colnago's new V5Rs?

The internet rumour mill has been sent into overdrive after pictures of Tadej Pogačar emerged, the biggest name in cycling seemingly riding a mystery bike and sparking suspicions that a new Colnago V5Rs may be coming soon.

Images of Pogačar, at a road safety event in Monaco this week, have been shared on various forums and social media sites, the pictures not the clearest but appearing to show the UAE Team Emirates star on an unreleased model, prompting rumours it could be an update to Colnago's V4Rs that the Slovenian sensation rode to victory at last season's Tour de France and World Championships. If so, we're assuming for now that it'll be called the V5Rs, but there's been no word from Colnago at all yet. 

 

 

 

 

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Colnago launched its new aero bike, the Y1Rs, as recently as December, but it has been more than three years now since the Italian brand brought out the V4Rs, making it ripe for an update.

> Take a look at Tadej Pogačar’s tricked-out Colnago V4Rs

While it was the striking paint job that first caught the eye, a closer look at the (admittedly far from ideal) images suggest some differences between this and the V4Rs. The rear shot of Pogačar taking a photo with a mascot appearing to show some differences in the seat post area, with the seat stays also potentially higher and a skinnier, presumably more aero, seat post.

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

There has also been a suggestion the forks are wider than previous models, potentially boosting tyre clearance, however the angle of and lack of clear front-on images makes this harder to gauge.

While Colnago was, in 2022 when it launched, keen to stress the aero qualities of the V4Rs, it is of course the climbing model raced to victory at the world's biggest races by Pogačar, the world champ switching to Colnago's new "most aerodynamic in the WorldTour" Y1Rs for Saturday's epic Milan-San Remo battle with Mathieu van der Poel and Filippo Ganna.

Pogačar mystery bike (credit: Instagram @beking_events)

The couple of details seen in these pictures suggest Colnago may have found some aero tweaks to eke out further improvement from the V4Rs, presumably without compromising its weight considering Pogačar's requirements come the mountains of the Tour.

If it is indeed a successor to the V4Rs we're pretty sure we won't have to wait too long to hear about how much lighter, more aerodynamic and stiffer the new model is, as is customary for any new bike launch.

As one rumour mill opens, another closes, UAE Team Emirates this morning confirming the news that cycling fans everywhere wanted to hear, Pogačar will make his Paris-Roubaix debut this spring, the team confirming he will sit out E3 Saxo Classic on Friday and Gent-Wevelgem on Sunday, instead going all-in for the Flanders-Roubaix double.

We'll be keeping a close eye on what bike Pogačar rides in Flanders. You'd assume, just as with San Remo at the weekend, the seven-time monument winner will take on the Roubaix cobbles aboard the aero Y1Rs. But what will he be riding for Flanders? The V4Rs, as he did at Strade Bianche and to last year's victories, or something a bit newer? We'll have to wait and see...