Beautiful Bicycle: The Colnago V4Rs That Made History

Even if you’re not deep into road racing but you ride bikes or casually follow cycling, you’ve probably heard the name Tadej Pogačar. Cycling is a more niche sport in the U.S. and to some extent a rider’s success can be measured by whether non-cyclists know who they are. Tadej is quickly on his way to becoming a household name as one of the greatest cyclists of all time.

In the 2024 season, Tadej racked up win after win, each with classic Pogačar flair. He attacked with panache regardless of the outcome and rode with heart, not his head unit. With victories at Strade Bianche, the Giro d’Italia, the Tour de France, and more than a dozen other races, his results and time spent in the leader’s jersey marked a level of domination we haven’t seen since the era of legends like Eddy Merckx.

Flash to September 2024. Tadej had his sights set on winning the World Championships, drawing some skeptical commentary. While he was the undisputed best GC rider and team leader of the modern era, many questioned whether he could pull off a one-day race against bigger powerhouses like Mathieu van der Poel and Remco Evenepoel.

For a race this big, a legend in the making like Tadej needed an equally legendary bike, and Colnago stepped up to the challenge. This limited-edition Colnago V4Rs is a replica of the bike Pogačar lined up with in Zurich for the World Championships, with some seriously meaningful paint to match.

A Memorable Moment For Every Brush Stroke 

Popping with vibrant blues, pinks, whites, and reds across the frame, Colnago went all out. Each one enshrouds the story of a monument or victory for Pogačar. Colnago went all out trying to showcase the true feats of athleticism that Tadej has accomplished, for one unique-looking frame.

• Pink: As mentioned above, Tadej started his GC conquests out strong, winning the 2024 Giro d’Italia. After spending 20 of the 21 stages in the pink leader’s jersey, these stripes of pink on this frame are well deserved.

• Yellow: Pogačar has earned himself three Tour de France wins—something accomplished by only eight other riders. Astounding.

• White: Within those Tour wins, Tadej won the Maillot Blanc, or the Young Rider’s Jersey. This white jersey is awarded to the “Best Young Rider in the Tour,” which he was awarded in three consecutive Tours.

• Red Polka: The fabled polka-dot jersey is also known as the KOM jersey. Pogačar managed to be the fastest overall to the summit of all stage-designated climbs in the TDF in 2020 and 2021.

• Blue: You might notice there are two shades of blue here, and both recognize a separate victory. The lighter blue represents a Paris–Nice win from 2023, and the darker blue signifies two Tirreno–Adriatico victories.

• Green: Pogi has three wins at Lombardia, a Monument Classic. This, along with Liège–Bastogne–Liège, which he has won more than once, is represented by a little bit of green on the non-drive-side chainstay.

• Bronze: Tadej placed third in the Olympics in 2021, and third at the World Championships in 2023.

More Than Just High-End

Like most other Contender “Beautiful Bicycles,” this bike is outfitted with some extremely high-end parts. But unlike other builds, it's not just whatever top-end parts you can get; this bike is full of small details that set it apart. With every part, some minor and major custom bits make this bike a true limited edition.

Drivetrain

Shimano Dura-Ace is the gold standard, and nothing less is fit for this kind of victory. But over just normal Dura-Ace, this limited-edition bike also has custom Carbon-Ti chainrings, with Tadej's logo and the Colnago logo custom cut into the woven carbon. The rear derailleur on this frame is also mounted with a FramesAndGear custom direct-mount for Shimano/Colnago. This stiffens the derailleur, leading to even more precise shifting.

Brakes

The brake rotors on this bike are more Italian custom goods from Carbon-Ti. These niche rotors and lockrings help drop grams where you can, and look amazing while they do it. This is one of the only bikes ever to come stock with these. Tadej will usually race on a set of Absolute Black brake pads, but they do not come with this bike. That being said, nothing is stopping you from running them on this bike.

Cockpit

Tadej has been using the ENVE SES Aero Pro One-Piece for a while now, but due to limited availability and long lead times, which makes fitting hard, it is not featured on this bike. Instead, this bike uses Colnago's more traditional Colnago CC.01 bar that comes on the standard Colnago V4Rs. But the saddle is a Prologo Nago R4 that has a custom Tadej colorway to it, with yellow accents and his logo emblazoned on the right side.

Wheels

Rolling around on a set of ENVE 4.5s, these wheels have been Pogačar's go-to race wheel for four years now. These wheels have custom decals laid onto them to match this varied paint job. They are tried and true, so why mess with perfection? These wheels are rolling on custom Carbon-Ti gold anodized axles, flashy even when you can't see them.

History In The Making

When Tadej lined up in Zurich on September 29, 2024, he set out to make history with this limited-edition frame. Against people's odds, Tadej rode with fierce determination and attacked solo with over 90k to go before the finish line, taking the 2024 World Championship jersey with a ride to remember. That makes two Grand Tour GC overall wins and a World Champs win in one year. Tadej Pogačar is now one of only three riders to achieve this feat—and the first rider in the modern era of cycling to do so.

All of this has lifted this bike from not just a limited edition, but a custom bike being written into cycling history books. Ten years from now, the very lucky owner of this Colnago V4Rs can tell people about the work of art in the garage that contributed to Tadej’s rise to one of the greatest cyclists of all time.