UAE Team Emirates appears to be embracing their inner weight weenie in a quest to save some extra grams
(Image credit: Josh Croxton)
Tadej Pogačar has, unsurprisingly, got off to a strong start at this year’s Tour de France. The Slovenian superstar has already donned the yellow jersey for a day and we covered his yellow accented bike yesterday.
That bike was put away for a day though as Richard Carapaz took over the race lead, but will have to come back out of the cupboard again as Pogačar has retaken the race lead in fine style following a sensational attack and hair raising descent over the Col du Galibier.
Post Giro, UAE Team Emirates sports manager Joxean Matxin commented that Pogacar "didn't finish tired," and gave an insight into potential weight-saving upgrades ahead of the Tour in an interview first published by BiciPro.
“We’ve tested some new things on the bikes, mainly with regard to lightening them, and we did time trial testing,” Matxin said.
“Small things, but they make the difference. The bikes are the same as at the Giro, but we’ve tried to lighten them a bit.”
We have been keeping an eye out for some of the aforementioned weight-saving moves during the start of the Tour and have been excited to see things like aftermarket lightweight brake pads and upgraded bolts. Cyclingnews snapped Pogačar's number two bike on the ground at the Tour and we've taken a look at what we think are some of these upgrades.
It's common knowledge that UAE Team Emirates has a deal with purveyors of carbon exotica Carbon-Ti and there is a range of its components fitted to the bike. There are also some new parts we haven't seen before like a Spanish ceramic bottom bracket, an upgraded derailleur hanger and what appears to be some upgraded brake caliper hardware. We love seeing these upgraded parts, it almost reminds us of buying parts online for our own bikes and feels refreshing in the current era of sponsor correctness. Long may the weight weenie moves continue in the peloton.
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The Absolute Black disc pads were fitted at the Giro. Spot the upgraded caliper bolts, and removed rubber bleed port covers, and the oil-slick brake hose nut in the background too. We think the disc pads save two grams over stock Dura-Ace ones. (Image credit: Alen Milavec - Colnago)
Hulk sticker, and a Wahoo Elemnt Bolt computer, a smaller and more aero model than the Roam (Image credit: Josh Croxton)
These look like Carbon-Ti X hubs to us, the drive-side cutouts in the hub shell are the giveaway. I have no idea what the L means, but these hubs retail at about €465 and weigh a claimed sub-200 grams. (Image credit: Josh Croxton)
Here we can see the Carbon-Ti thru-axles which weigh a claimed 23 grams, and X-Rotors, as well as the Carbon-Ti lockring which weighs 8 grams, about the same as the Shimano units. (Image credit: Josh Croxton)
Carbon-Ti lightweight headset top cap bolt; it's great to still see mods like this. (Image credit: Josh Croxton)
A Prologo Nago R4 147mm saddle, with centerline neatly marked, this saddle weighs a claimed 159 grams in the carbon railed option. (Image credit: Josh Croxton)
We think this is a change from the Giro: A CNC machined alloy direct mount hanger from Frames and Gear. It weighs a claimed 12 grams and promises a shifting improvement. (Image credit: Josh Croxton)
And Pogacar's yellow bike from stage 3 featured a gold one. The brand also makes them in blue, purple, and oil slick. (Image credit: Alen Milavec - Colnago)
A Powerset ceramic T47 bottom bracket from the Spanish brand Bikeone was fitted to the yellow bike from stage 3. We don't know if this is a new part or has been used before, but they retail for €399. (Image credit: Alen Milavec - Colnago)
These shots are from Pogacar's number two race bike, at least we assume that's what the sticker means (Image credit: Josh Croxton)
Tom joined the Cyclingnews team in late 2022 as a tech writer. Despite having a degree in English Literature he has spent his entire working life in the cycling industry in one form or another. He has over 10 years of experience as a qualified mechanic, with the last five years before joining Cyclingnews being spent running an independent workshop. This means he is just as happy tinkering away in the garage as he is out on the road bike, and he isn’t afraid to pull a bike apart or get hands-on with it when testing to really see what it’s made of.
He has ridden and raced bikes from an early age up to a national level on the road and track, and has ridden and competed in most disciplines. He has a keen eye for pro-team tech and enjoys spotting new or interesting components in the wild. During his time at Cyclingnews, Tom has already interviewed some of the sport's biggest names including Mathieu van der Poel, Tadej Pogačar and Alberto Contador. He's also covered various launches from brands such as Pinarello, Ridley, Specialized and more, tackled the Roubaix Challenge sportive aboard his own rim-brake Cannondale SuperSix Evo, tested over 20 aero helmets in the wind tunnel, and has created helpful in-depth buying advice relating to countless categories from torque wrenches to winter clothing.
