Tadej Pogaçar’s time trial bike leaves no stone unturned in quest for Tour de France victory

In racing terms, the action on any given time trial is perhaps less frenetic than a road stage of the Tour de France. They’re a slow burn with ever-building tension, but for tech nerds who get excited about the most marginal of gains, they are an absolute gold mine awash with shiny nuggets. Race leader Tadej Pogacar’s TT bike is a rich seam in itself, with plenty of mods and some brand-new parts that haven’t been seen before, so let’s dive right in, or save it for when there’s a lull in proceedings during the stage 7 time trial.

The images herein are gleaned from a UAE Team Emirates tweet, but handily Colnago has also posted a decent gallery of the bike, which we’ve included below.

An very expensive saddle

First up we have a brand new saddle from UAE Team Emirates sponsor, Prologo. I do have some insider information on this: There’s a claimed seven-watt benefit to the saddle, thanks to aero improvements and improvements in rider posture. While the leading edges seem to be at the forefront of any good aerodynamicist’s mind, this new saddle aims to smooth the airflow as it detaches from the rider’s back, with an elongated rear and heavily dropped side shrouds to shield the rails and seat clamp.