Reigning champion Tadej Pogačar’s bike for the 2025 Tour de France is under the UCI weight limit – but only by a whisker.
We're on the ground at the Grands Départ in Lille checking out the hottest tech from this year's race and, naturally, have made a beeline for Pogačar’s ride, as he prepares for a tilt at a fourth Tour title.
According to our scales, Pogačar’s Colnago V5Rs weighs 6.765kg, which is 35g under the UCI’s minimum weight.
WorldTour teams have been known to add weight to bikes to meet the UCI’s requirements, but it’s more unusual to see such a light build in today’s peloton, where disc-equipped, aero-influenced bikes – such as rival Vingegaard’s unreleased Cervélo S5 – can comfortably exceed the 6.8kg limit.
Any set of weighing scales – ours included – will have a margin of error but, with the Tour starting on Saturday, Pogačar’s V5Rs is flirting with the UCI's legal limit.
Throwback wheels
The low weight of Pogačar’s Colnago V5Rs isn’t the only throwback, with the three-time champion’s new wheels also bucking trends.
Released yesterday, the ENVE SES 4.5 Pro wheelset is aimed at mountainous stages, whereas the standard SES 4.5s are targeted at flatter parcours.
The new wheels are actually narrower than the American brand’s standard SES 4.5 wheels. The rims have an internal width of 23.5mm, which is 1.5mm narrower than the SES 4.5s, to meet the latest European Tyre and Rim Technical Organisation (ETRTO) recommendations for running 28mm-wide tyres.
In another curious change, the wheels have a mini-hook, despite ENVE being a long-time proponent of hookless rims.
ENVE says it's used a new higher-modulus carbon layup to shave off rim thickness and, therefore, save weight. The new mini-hook is a by-product of this weight-saving process, and it also means Pogačar can use lighter 28mm tyres.
Talking of tyres, Pogačar’s choice of rubber might come as a surprise if you’ve been following recent releases.
Continental just released the Archetype tyre, a lighter version of the GP5000 developed in partnership with Pogačar and his UAE Emirates-XRG team for the 2025 Tour de France. However, when we saw it, Pogačar’s Colnago V5Rs was fitted with GP5000 TT TR time trial tyres.
That said, the Archetype is only available in a 30mm width, which is not optimal for SES 4.5 Pros fitted to Pogačar's all-round road bike.
If Pogačar switches to the standard SES 4.5s for flatter stages, then we might see the Archetype appear. We also saw his Y1Rs aero bike at the UAE Emirates-XRG team hotel and that was indeed fitted with Continental Archetype tyres.
We'll be bringing you a full gallery of Pogačar's Y1Rs, too, but here's a teaser image for you. (Spoiler: it weighs 7.57kg on our scales).
Custom, custom and more custom
Back to the V5Rs, and it’s not a surprise, but Pogačar’s bike is covered in custom parts.
Look closely and you can see a custom 3D-printed headset cap, a carbon stem cap, a laser-etched bottom bracket shell, and a ‘TP’ logo cut into the carbon chainrings.
Elsewhere, Pogačar has a custom 3D-printed saddle from Fizik and a custom race number holder on the bike’s seatpost.
As on his 2024 Tour de France V4Rs, Pogačar’s bike for this year’s race has a one-piece cockpit from ENVE that measures 36cm hood-to-hood.
The cockpit is similarly adorned with a sticker from watch sponsor Richard Mille, even if – in stark contrast – the young Slovenian superstar has added a cartoon Hulk bang in the middle of the bar.
Pogačar also seems to have the same direct-mount rear derailleur hanger as last year, but he’s no longer using the AbsoluteBlack brake pads.
More on Tadej Pogačar
- Spotted! Is this Colnago V5Rs with ENVE aero extensions Tadej Pogačar’s mountain TT bike?
- A resting heart rate of 37 and an FTP of 415: the numbers behind Pogačar's Tour triumphs
- 11 surprising things you need to know about Tadej Pogačar
- How Tadej Pogačar became an all-terrain winning machine – the inside view
Elsewhere, the unreleased bottle cages are a new addition. These appear to be the updated Elite Leggero bottle cages that were on display at Eurobike 2025 and are set for release later this year.
Elite says the new bottle cages weigh 13g, which is a few grams lighter than the current version.
Big gears and a dirty chain
As you’d expect, Pogačar’s bike is decked out with a Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 groupset, but it’s not in a standard configuration.
Pogačar's FTP is estimated to be around 415 watts and, to help deliver that power, he has 55- and 40-tooth chainrings. These are paired with an 11-34-tooth cassette, for a wide range of gears out back.
The UAE Emirates-XRG rider also has 165mm cranks, which are 5mm longer than rival Vingegaard’s.
Finally, we’re surprised by how dirty Pogačar’s chain looks, but that could just be a dark chain wax – and no doubt the team mechanics will ensure every micro-detail is covered at the Tour.
