If there’s one rider who blends natural talent with obsessive attention to detail, it’s Tadej Pogačar. The two-time Tour de France winner has long been known for his calm demeanor and explosive racing style, but behind his seemingly relaxed exterior is a rider who sweats the small stuff, especially when it comes to time trials.
During the Stage 13 individual time trial of the 2025 Tour de France, Pogačar rolled up to the start line aboard a Colnago Y1RS that ditched the white and black of the standard paint scheme, nor did it have the all-yellow paint of riders like Ben Healy and Mathieu van der Poel. In its stead was a blacked-out, bottle cage-free bike seemingly without bar tape.
Here’s a closer look at what Tadej Pogačar and UAE Team Emirates did differently as he chased every marginal gain he could to cement his first place in the general classification.
All black paint and a road bike frame
Pogačar’s bike for the time trial skipped the usual celebratory yellow or even UAE’s white team livery. Instead, it arrived in full blackout stealth mode. The reasoning wasn’t aesthetic, it was practical. Paint – particularly the white paint he usually has – adds weight. Removing it is one of the easiest ways to save grams without sacrificing performance.
How much lighter? Hard to say. Some have reported that the raw, carbon-finish Colnago Y1RS saves an estimated 300 g over the standard painted version, though we suspect the difference is a far more minimal ~100 g.
While rivals like Mathieu van der Poel and Ben Healy opted for yellow frames to match their jerseys, Pogačar chose performance over presentation.
It is also worth mentioning that Tadej Pogačar opted to use the Colnago Y1RS rather than the Colnago TT1 that one might assume to be used during a time trial stage. Besides being lighter than a time trial bike, the team decided to use the road bike not only because he’s on road bikes 99 percent of the time. Not only was it more comfortable, but if he couldn’t push the same power on the time trial bike, then it made little sense to use it.
No bar tape!
This one’s a classic TT marginal gain—but it still catches the eye every time.
Rather than wrapping the drop bar with traditional padded bar tape, Pogačar’s cockpit appears to use only a slim wrap of electrical tape past the shifters, if anything at all. The goal here is simple: remove any unnecessary material that could increase drag, weight, or interfere with arm placement.
Most TT riders still run some sort of grippy wrap for comfort and control, especially over long stages or technical courses. But when you’re chasing seconds in under 40 minutes, and you’ve memorized your hand position, every watt saved is a watt earned.
Aero sleeves, but not where you’d expect them
Pogačar has an aero arm sleeve on his left arm, presumably to cover up the bandages from his stage 12 crash. That’s to be expected, but he only has one arm sleeve going. Where is the other half of the arm sleeve?
It’s on his shoes. It’s on his shoes, covering up his laces.
We’ve seen shoe covers proliferate across the pro peloton, but nothing quite like this. Guess I need to cut up my aero sleeves now.
ENVE SES 4.5 Pro wheels + Continental TT tires
UAE Team Emirates has been experimenting with ENVE’s SES 4.5 Pro wheels at this year’s Tour, and they appeared again under Pogačar during the TT. This is a newer, lighter take on the standard SES 4.5, aimed at improving both climbing performance and stiffness-to-weight ratios without sacrificing much in aerodynamics. It makes perfect sense to see them here, made especially with stages like this in mind.
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For rubber, Pogačar stuck with the Continental GP5000 TT TR tires. These are well-known in the peloton for offering among the lowest rolling resistance of any tubeless race tire, while still delivering confident grip and predictable ride feel. Expect each tire to save at least 40 grams per wheel over an equivalent 28 mm GP 5000 S TR tire (280 g).
Many teams have opted for the new Continental Aero 111 tires this year, which theoretically provide better aerodynamic shaping, but they also weigh more and may not match the trusted grip of the GP5000 TT.
Minimal updates, but with purpose
Beyond the headline changes, there’s a suite of subtle choices that reflect Pogačar’s attention to detail.
- No bottles, cages, or radio: Standard protocol for short time trials. No sense in carrying hydration when the team car is minutes away, and the stage will be over before dehydration becomes an issue. Further, Pogačar decided there’s no sense in using a radio for a stage this short, instead relying on leaderboards to see where he was along the way.
- 140 mm brake rotors front and rear. Given he wasn’t likely to be on the brakes all that much, smaller rotors make sense here.
- Framesandgear derailleur hanger: Direct-mount hangers like this reduce flex and help keep shifts crisp under load.
- Carbon-Ti chainrings: At this point, this is the UAE Team Emirates standard choice of chainring. The chainrings are said to cut weight and add shifting precision from their greater stiffness.
- Bikone ceramic bottom bracket: A small upgrade, but one that shaves drivetrain friction—important in a discipline where marginal drag matters.
- No Graphenpads: Pogačar’s bike lacks the often-seen Absoluteblack Graphenpads of years past, which protrude from the calipers and are marketed for thermal regulation. Their omission might be aesthetic, weight-driven, or simply personal preference.
All in, it’s fun to see all the small changes that Tadej Pogačar and the team have made to make this Colnago Y1RS go as fast as possible.
