Men's road world champion Tadej Pogačar has been spotted on what appears to be a new Colnago V5RS. But while a geometric wrap hides any changes to the frame, the one photo we do have (pictured above) can tell us a few crucial details.
Spotted by Lukas Ronald Lukacs on X, the notable aspect of the frame is how similar it seems when compared to the current Colnago V4RS.
During the recent launch of Colnago’s Y1RS aero bike, the V4RS was shown, by Colnago’s own data, to be rather slow.
The Y1RS was claimed to be a whopping 20 watts faster than the V4RS at 50kph and 0º yaw.
As a result of this gulf in aero performance, we would expect a new V5RS to come with claims of significant aero improvements.
However, given the angular camo wrap covering Pogačar’s bike, it's difficult to tell whether the V5RS takes any frame-design cues from the Y1RS.
There is also a possibility that the UAE Team Emirates riders asked Colnago for similar aero credentials to the V4RS, but at a lighter weight. Outside Magazine reported Pogačar’s Giro d’Italia-winning V4RS, with ENVE 4.5 wheels and Shimano Dura-Ace pedals, weighed 7.4kg.
Given a number of Pogačar’s competitors boast lightweight climbing bikes that get close to the UCI’s 6.8kg minimum weight limit, there could have been a focus on lowering the weight.
What we can see clearly is that the Y1RS’ new CC.Y1 cockpit is not being used. Pogačar’s current ENVE one-piece cockpit is visible on the spy shot we have of the V5RS and, given the 'conventional' design of the head tube, we suspect there's no new bar design in the works.
The new bike also appears to be set up with standard bottles and cages. Other brands, such as Trek with its latest Madone, have looked to reduce drag through specially-designed water bottles, but Colnago told BikeRadar this idea was rejected by the team during development of the Y1RS, and it looks like that thinking has been carried forward with this new, unreleased bike.
While we don't know when we'll get full details of the new V5RS, we'll be keeping a sharp eye out for it being used in the pro peloton in the coming weeks.
Spotted Tadej Pogačar on a new bike? 👀 pic.twitter.com/SNXLiv4lg7
— Lukáš Ronald Lukács (@lucasaganronald) March 23, 2025
