Today's stage of the Tour de France will see riders tackle a 10.9km mountain time trial in the Pyrenees.
With three kilometres of rolling roads followed by an 8km climb at an average gradient of 7.9 per cent, the course will give GC contenders an opportunity to gain time on their rivals – and pose a significant equipment headache. Do they prioritise aerodynamics in an individual race against the clock, or light weight in a fight against the gradient of the climb to Peyragudes? Could some riders even switch from a TT bike to a climb bike at the foot of the ascent?
We spotted this lightweight road/TT bike hybrid in the mechanics' truck at the UAE Team Emirates XRG team hotel in Lille, ahead of the Grand Départ. Could this be the bike that Tadej Pogačar rides today? Or will he choose an altogether different setup?
We'll be watching with interest to see what Pogačar rolls down the start ramp on but, for now, we're republishing this story, originally published on 3 July, to get another look at the three-time Tour de France champion's potential solution to the stage 13 tech dilemma.
This could be the bike Tadej Pogačar will use for the mountain time trial on stage 13 of the 2025 Tour de France.
While checking out Pogačar’s Colnago V5Rs and Y1Rs (look out for in-depth features on both bikes coming soon) at the UAE Team Emirates XRG team hotel, we spotted one of his spare road bikes in the back of a team van setup with ENVE clip-on aero extensions and an ENVE 6.7 rear wheel.
Stage 13 is likely to play a key part in the fight for the yellow jersey, with the 10.9km mountain time trial scaling the Pyrenean climb of Peyragudes – officially, an 8km ascent at an average gradient of 7.9 per cent.
While the majority of a rider’s time on course will be spent riding uphill, the opening 4km of the stage feature average gradients of less than 5 per cent and a short downhill section.
It appears, then, that rather than riding his Colnago TT1 time trial bike and attempting a quick bike swap at the start of the climb’s steeper gradients, Pogačar may opt for a hybrid that he can ride for the entirety of the course.
Worth the weight
The extensions appear almost identical to those on Pogačar's time trial bike, with an aerodynamic, full carbon construction that supports his forearms, and integrated armrests to keep the three-time Tour champion locked into his aero tuck.
The ENVE 6.7 rear wheel is an interesting choice at face value, given it has a 67mm-deep rim profile and is therefore a little heavier than ENVE’s shallower rims (although only by a few grams if ENVE’s figures are to be believed).
The bike we saw didn’t appear ‘race-ready’, though – in fact, it appeared to be in mid-build state, given the setup-guide sticker on the front derailleur was still in place, and brake hoses were still protruding from the headset.
It also lacked a few important things, such as shifters, chainrings, a chain and a front wheel.
Beyond that, though, it was painted in standard team colours, rather than his world champion’s rainbow livery – this makes sense, given the stage in question is a time trial. That said, if Pogačar were to ride a setup like this, we might expect Colnago to produce a lightweight, unpainted / clear coat-only version for the big day – to eke out every last weight saving possible.
The clip-on extensions seemed somewhat makeshift at a glance, too, being secured to Pogačar’s standard ENVE SES Aero cockpit using chunky, machined metal clamps – rather than being cleanly integrated with the bar itself.
As a result, we suspect this setup – or variations of it – is something Pogačar has been trialling in recent months, with a final decision yet to be made.
Ultimately, Pogačar will need to decide whether carrying the extra weight of the aero extensions – or any other piece of aero equipment – on the climb is worth whatever time it might save him over a bike change during the opening kilometres.
Pogačar’s team will doubtless have performance analysts crunching the numbers and deducing the theoretical fastest setup for the defending champion (although whether he goes with that or with his gut feeling is another matter, of course).
And with his big rival, Jonas Vingegaard, looking set to roll up on an all-new, superlight Cervélo R5, Pogačar is clearly also looking for every possible advantage in the fight for the yellow jersey too.
