While Monaco performs host to loads of skilled cyclists, due to a nice local weather, quick access to some wonderful climbs, and a comparatively light-touch tax regime, it doesn’t ever actually change into the main focus of the biking world by way of racing. It does nonetheless play host to a charity biking occasion attended by a slew {of professional} racers, together with Monaco native and present world champion, Tadej Pogačar.
While the occasion in query hardly ever, if ever, makes headlines, footage emerged on Twitter of Pogačar astride what seems to be an all-new Colnago bike. We can’t make out a lot from the photographs, partially as they’re low decision and uploaded to social media, slightly than correct high-res sports activities images snaps, and partially due to the intentionally bedazzling paintwork, however we are able to a minimum of surmise that there’s a sturdy probability that that is the brand new V5Rs, what with the present Colnago V4Rs approaching its third 12 months of use.
Colnago has already garnered headlines with its eye-catching new aero bike, the Colnago Y1Rs, which Pogačar has been utilizing to nice impact since its launch. With information breaking that the Slovenian will certainly race Paris-Roubaix for the primary time this 12 months we are able to speculate whether or not he’ll do it aboard a brand new machine, even when it’s within the prototype part, or follow what he is aware of.
Is this the Colnago V5Rs?
New bikes, and different tech too, are sometimes ‘leaked’ into the wild with a paint scheme consisting of irregular polygons to interrupt up the traces of the product in query. It’s efficient, and so realistically we are able to’t inform a lot from the photographs.
From what we are able to make out it looks as if this new bike has a flatter prime tube, doubtless in an try and drop the load, and the fork appears a bit wider too. Given the development in the direction of wider tyres, particularly within the wake of our personal lab testing proving important wattage financial savings over cobbled surfaces, it’s not unreasonable to recommend that the brand new machine could have wider tyre clearance than the outdated mannequin.
Colnago was contacted for remark as as to if this was a prototype V5Rs however declined to touch upon the matter.
This will probably be Pogačar’s first Paris-Roubaix, however we have now seen him earlier within the 12 months on a reconnaissance of some key cobbled sectors experience utilizing the present V4Rs. He’s additionally rode a prototype model of the V4Rs within the 2022 Tour de France and has ridden the present machine to victory on the Tour of Flanders.
While having further tyre clearance (and we suspect that is clearance he would make use of, as Pogačar has at all times been an early adopter of wider tyres) can be of use over the cobbles it’s our prediction that he’ll use the V4Rs for each Flanders and Roubaix.
This is the primary time we’ve seen this new machine, and whereas there’s each probability he’s been testing it and been an integral a part of the event cycle, racing a model new machine with just a few weeks of use is probably going too massive of a danger.
