Colnago Y1Rs With Rainbow Stripes Debuts Under Tadej Pogačar

There’s no doubt that the Colnago Y1Rs is the hottest bike in the pro peloton right now. Colnago R&D project leader Filippo Galli claims  “We check in the wind tunnel, and we also check with the team in the velodrome, and on average at around 48, 50 kilometers per hour, the advantage is 20 watts against the previous model. But you can understand, you just look at the bicycle, you can see that this bicycle is fully conceived for aerodynamics.”

It’s not just the bike though. Tadej Pogačar is the name every other rider is thinking about in every race. A point which Galli again reinforces by saying “I think they are worried anyway” when responding to a question about how worried his rivals should be now that he’s on a faster bike.

Despite the appetite for information though, we’ve not seen much of the bike since its launch in early December. It was conspicuously absent from Tour Down Under and it won’t be available for purchase any time soon. Elisa Longo Borghini did use the bike on her way to an eventual win of the UAE Tour Women 2025 but she was pictured on the all-around V4Rs race bike as often as the Y1Rs and her win was with the older bike. Now we are seeing it ready to race under Tadej Pogačar and with the rainbow stripes to boot.

Given that the size and handlebars are completely unique, it’s worth starting with a look at what Pogačar is running. This particular Y1Rs is a size small with a 125mm stem, 377 mm width at the hoods, and 400 mm width at the drops.

As alluded to in the launch discussions, there’s a Wahoo computer nestled into the fork of the bars as they descend to the stem. This is clearly not the consumer facing out front mount seen before and it’s clear that there’s healthy aero considerations. Rather than allowing the computer to rotate, “it sits into the cradle and then there is a little rotating latch on the underside to lock the computer into place.”

What’s more surprising is the computer that’s nestled into the 3D printed mount. The Wahoo Ace was recently cleared for WorldTour racing and it’s the latest computer from Wahoo plus it’s got the aero sensor that holds great promise. In its place here, Pogačar is using the much older Wahoo Bolt with many of the buttons covered. Will we see the Ace sitting ahead of the signature Hulkster sticker in the future?

The only other detail of note on the CC.Y1 handlebars are the controls. As expected, these are Shimano Dura-Ace levers but, perhaps also as expected, Pogačar is running a rather heavy tilt and angle. Nothing about the Colnago design requires this however, as has become the style, Pogačar has them vertically tilted past 90-degrees for a more comfortable wrist angle as well as horizontally tilted towards the bikes center for aerodynamics.

Other details on this bike are even more expected and yet still impressive to see in the real world. The Enve SES 4.5 wheels, shod with Continental Grand Prix 5000 TT TR tires, are running the white graphics with stripes in the logo. The match with the pearl white frame certainly catches the eye and the same is true of the impressively shielded water bottles and cages.

Move your eye to the fork blades and there’s details there as well. Compared to a bike like the Trek Madone, which has some obvious similarities to the rear of the Colnago, the width of the fork blades is surprising. There’s also an impressive amount of shielding around the end of the blades on both sides.

Keep your eye moving and the front end is so dramatic it’s worth even more digital ink of its own. The thoughtful design detail of painting the Colnago word mark so it’s only visible when the front turns and reveals it is noteworthy but it’s the front view that’s most surprising. Pictures have already landed across screens around the world and yet seeing how narrow and pointed it actually is continues to surprise. What’s tomorrow’s next aero bike going to be capable of? How narrow can a front end on a bike get?

It’s also a question worth consideration of the bike overall. The Colnago Y1Rs is a radical bike that’s unlike anything else. Even if you consider the narrow front end and bird-like handlebar design reminiscent, the seat tube junction is unique. Does it matter? Tadej Pogačar has a history of being dominant, how much will the bike matter? Will the UCI start to take a more critical look at this kind of technology?

Visually it’s impressive to see the debut of the rainbow clad Colnago Y1Rs but it does leave questions that will be worth consideration as 2025 plays out. Let us know what you think in the comments and you can look for our review of the Colnago Y1Rs as soon as it’s available.