Tadej Pogačar's secret tech for the Tour de France time trial

Tadej Pogačar will take to the start of today’s Tour de France stage aboard this custom Colnago TT1 time trial bike.

The riders face a relatively flat, non-technical course for the first individual time trial at this year’s Tour (you can read our stage 5 preview for a full run-down of proceedings), meaning everyone will be riding a dedicated, aero-is-everything time trial bike.

As luck would have it, when we visited Pogačar’s team hotel at the Grand Départ in Lille, his Colnago TT1 time trial bike was out and waiting to be worked on by the team mechanics.

So, of course, we couldn’t miss an opportunity to grab a few hasty snaps before it was whisked away – and we’re glad we did, because there are loads of interesting details that make the defending champion’s bike stand out from the crowd.

From a new set of custom carbon fibre aero extensions to an unreleased ENVE wheelset and a whopper of a 1x chainring, let’s dive into one of the most tricked-out TT bikes at this year’s Tour.

• We've weighed Tadej Pogačar’s Tour de France bike – and it's currently under the UCI weight limit

Aero is everything

It’s a cliché at this point, but on a day like this, aero really is everything.

With that in mind, Pogačar’s bike makes almost no concessions to weight other than a lightweight, matt black paintjob and a swap from a standard Colnago TT1 seatpost to one made by carbon specialists Darimo, which saves around 70g.

Everything else on the bike is about eking out every possible aerodynamic advantage.

Perhaps most importantly (given the rider's body position makes the largest difference to their overall aerodynamic drag), Pogačar has a new set of custom carbon fibre aero extensions, which are made by ENVE in Utah, USA.

For those unfamiliar with time trial or triathlon bikes, this is the part of the handlebar where Pogačar will rest his forearms during the race.

So far this season, Pogačar had been running carbon extensions and arm rests from ENVE bolted on to adjustable risers. The new aero bars, however, flow directly into the base bar and the arm rests are a structural part of the carbon extensions.

There’s also a bridging section of carbon between the two extensions for Pogačar to mount his Wahoo Elemnt Bolt 3 bike computer (it may also add an element of strength and rigidity to the overall structure).

According to ENVE, only Pogačar and his teammate João Almeida will be running these one-piece extensions at the Tour.

As is common on elite-spec time trial bikes, the shape and dimensions of Pogačar’s extensions are tailored specifically to his unique riding position – and if he ever wants to change that, he’ll almost certainly need to start from scratch with a new set of extensions.

That’s probably not too much of a concern for the three-time Tour champion, though.

Up top, the extensions include a port from Shimano Di2 sprint shifters – instead of Shimano’s dedicated bar-end shifters – on the inside of the hand grips, with additional Di2 shifters glued on to the underside of the brake levers.

This way, Pogačar has full control of the bike’s 1x drivetrain (more on this shortly) whether he’s tucked in his aero position or sat up on the bullhorns.

The armrests feature high sides to help Pogačar stay locked into his aero tuck, and a small amount of foam padding is added to each extension for a little cushioning.

A dinner-plate sized chainring

Pogačar has at least three distinct road bike setups at this year’s Tour de France – his ‘standard’ Colnago V5Rs and Y1Rs road bikes, plus a V5Rs with aero extensions that we reckon he might use for the mountain TT on stage 13 – but his TT bike unsurprisingly has the most aggressive spec of all.

Pogačar has, for example, a whopping 62-tooth Carbon-Ti 1x aero chainring (the biggest the brand makes) up front, mounted to a Shimano Dura-Ace FC-R9200-P power meter crankset.

This €300 chainring features a narrow-wide tooth profile for improved chain retention (although Pogačar is running a K-Edge chain guide as a fail-safe), and is constructed entirely from carbon fibre – which many brands claim reduces frictional losses compared to typical aluminium rings.

Beyond that, Pogačar has a Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 R9200 rear derailleur, mounted via a gold-anodised direct-mount hanger, an 11-30t cassette, a waxed chain and Shimano Dura-Ace SPD-SL pedals.

Unreleased wheels

Pogačar’s ENVE wheels, though, appear to be unreleased TT-specific models – neither of which is currently listed on the brand’s website.

As is de rigueur for any WorldTour time trial, Pogačar has a full-carbon disc wheel at the rear of his bike.

Although it adds weight, a solid disc wheel is generally considered the most aerodynamic choice, because there are no spokes to chop through the air and create additional turbulence.

ENVE has produced TT disc wheels in the past, but with its unidirectional carbon finish, this one looks different from older models such as the SES Rear Disc Wheel it launched back in 2018.

Given how road bike wheels have generally evolved in recent years, we’d guess this new model is lighter and likely has greater internal and external widths, too, for improved performance with wider tyres. It may even have hookless rims, as many (although not all) ENVE road rims do.

Up front, Pogačar's TT1 has what appears to be the same deep-section ENVE rim his UAE teammate, Tim Wellens, debuted at last year’s Tour de France.

Although Wellens used the ENVE rim during the time trial on stage 7 at the 2024 Tour de France, Pogačar opted for a set of AeroCoach wheels (with the branding tastefully removed, of course).

It will be interesting, therefore, to see if Pogačar lines up with the ENVE wheels or not at this year’s Tour, where it matters most.

According to ENVE, the new front wheel uses a super-deep, hookless rim design that’s intended to be class-leading in terms of aerodynamics and weight.

The wheel on Pogačar’s TT bike also looks to have been upgraded from what Wellens used last year, with the new silver spokes and front hub from the brand’s recently launched SES 4.5 Pro wheelset (likely because they’re light and feature ceramic bearings).

Continental’s time-trial specific, GP5000 TT TR tyres (in a size 25c) are mounted on both wheels, and are set up tubeless.

Originally launched at the 2022 Tour de France as the GP5000 TT TDF, these tyres are claimed to be the German brand’s “fastest-ever” road bike tyres.

Although they were designed for use in short time trials, they’ve proven popular in road racing too, with Pogačar and co regularly using them for road stages as well in recent years.

3D-printed comfort

Finishing things off, Pogačar’s bike was equipped with a Fizik Transiro Aeris Long Distance R1 Adaptive 3D-printed saddle.

As the name suggests, this is a model designed for long-distance triathlon racing, although it's fair to say saddle comfort is equally significant in the middle of a Grand Tour.

Last but not least, the Colnago TT1 uses an integrated aero water bottle to fill in the space between the down tube and seat tube, so we’ve no doubt Pogačar will be using that on race day.

Could this be the bike that propels Pogačar into the race leader’s yellow jersey at this year’s Tour?

Pogačar heads into the stage on equal footing with current leader Mathieu van der Poel, but with his big rival, Jonas Vingegaard, only eight seconds back in the general classification and world and olympic TT champion, Remco Evenepoel, within a minute, nothing is assured.

Specs | Tadej Pogačar's Colnago TT1 for the 2025 Tour de France

• Frameset: Colnago TT1
• Groupset: Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 R9200 with 62t Carbon-Ti chainring
• Wheelset: Unreleased ENVE rear disc and front wheel
• Power meter: Shimano Dura-Ace FC-R9200-P
• Tyres: Continental GP5000 TT TR, 700x25c
• Handlebar: Colnago TT1 base bar with ENVE custom extensions
• Seatpost: Darimo Carbon Seatpost for Colnago TT1
• Saddle: Fizik Transiro Aeris Long Distance R1 Adaptive
• Bottle cage: Colnago TT1
• Pedals: Shimano Dura-Ace
• Weight: Unknown