{"id":17924,"date":"2023-03-07T17:01:56","date_gmt":"2023-03-07T17:01:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2023\/03\/07\/tadej-pogacar-disadvantaged-by-bike-sponsor-colnago-says-tom-boonen\/"},"modified":"2023-03-07T17:01:56","modified_gmt":"2023-03-07T17:01:56","slug":"tadej-pogacar-disadvantaged-by-bike-sponsor-colnago-says-tom-boonen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2023\/03\/07\/tadej-pogacar-disadvantaged-by-bike-sponsor-colnago-says-tom-boonen\/","title":{"rendered":"Tadej Pogacar disadvantaged by bike sponsor Colnago, says Tom Boonen"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div id=\"article-body\">\n<p>UAE Team Emirates&#8217; bike sponsor, Colnago, is holding back <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/riders\/tadej-pogacar\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Tadej Poga\u010dar<\/a>, according to retired Classics specialist <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/riders\/tom-boonen\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Tom Boonen<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Speaking alongside fellow Belgian and former Li\u00e8ge-Bastogne-Li\u00e8ge winner Dirk De Wolf on the Flemish <a href=\"https:\/\/sporza.be\/nl\/sporza-podcast\/wielerclub-wattage\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" data-url=\"https:\/\/sporza.be\/nl\/sporza-podcast\/wielerclub-wattage\/\"><em>Wielerclub Wattage<\/em><\/a><span class=\"sr-only\"> (opens in new tab)<\/span> podcast, the pair discussed the quality of manufacturers in the peloton today.\u00a0<\/p>\n<aside class=\"hawk-nest paywall\" data-render-type=\"fte\" data-skip=\"dealsy\" data-widget-type=\"seasonal\"\/>\n<p class=\"paywall\">&#8220;He&#8217;d ride decisively faster on those bikes,&#8221; started De Wolf, referencing a previous quote in which he&#8217;d said that if Poga\u010dar was given the bike of Team Jumbo-Visma, Ineos Grenadiers or Soudal-QuickStep, then his competitors wouldn&#8217;t stand a chance. &#8220;Cerv\u00e9lo, S-Works, Pinarello, [if he rode those,] then he would ride a few more watts faster and better.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"paywall\">UAE Team Emirates have been sponsored by the Italian brand Colnago ever since the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/news\/uci-awards-final-worldtour-licence-to-uae-abu-dhabi\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">team transformed from Lampre-Merida<\/a> ahead of the 2017 season. Poga\u010dar has been with the team for his entire WorldTour career, joining in 2019 from Slovenian outfit Ljubljana Gusto Xaurum at just 20 years of age. During that time, he&#8217;s enjoyed a prodigious career aboard the brand, winning Li\u00e8ge-Bastogne-Li\u00e8ge himself, alongside the Tour de France, Il Lombardia and Tirreno-Adriatico twice each, plus Strade Bianche and more.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"paywall\">Jumbo Visma have ridden aboard Cerv\u00e9lo bikes since switching from Bianchi in 2021. Ineos have been with Pinarello since their inception in 2010, while Soudal-QuickStep have ridden Specialized bikes since 2006 \u2013 a season in which Boonen himself won the Tour de France sprinters&#8217; classification aboard the Tarmac SL2 \u2013 and will continue to do so until at least 2027.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"paywall\">&#8220;I think Tom [Boonen] can very easily answer what the difference is between a very good bike, a slightly inferior bike, and a top bike,&#8221; De Wolf continued. &#8220;It\u2019s like a Ferrari and a Porsche, there&#8217;s a difference. Tom?&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"paywall\">&#8220;I think [within] a top five of manufacturers, there is little difference [between] them,&#8221; Boonen responded. &#8220;There is of course always an order to it, but indeed, there is still a lot of difference between a top five and a top 10 or 15.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"paywall\">Asked if he considered Colnago outside of that top five, Boonen agreed. &#8220;Yes. Colnago is catching up, but it&#8217;s still an old-school bike, and they haven&#8217;t quite mastered that super-hyper-aero stuff yet.&#8221;<\/p>\n<figure class=\"paywall van-image-figure inline-layout\" data-bordeaux-image-check=\"\">\n<div class=\"image-full-width-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"image-widthsetter\" style=\"max-width:3982px;\">\n<p class=\"vanilla-image-block\" style=\"padding-top:66.55%;\"><picture><source type=\"image\/webp\" alt=\"Marc Soler's Colnago TT1\" class=\" lazy-image-van\" onerror=\"if(this.src &amp;&amp; this.src.indexOf('missing-image.svg') !== -1){return true;};this.parentNode.replaceChild(window.missingImage(),this)\" data-normal=\"https:\/\/vanilla.futurecdn.net\/cyclingnews\/media\/img\/missing-image.svg\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/A8VRRXEHq52wu46ej8pk3e-320-80.jpg.webp 320w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/A8VRRXEHq52wu46ej8pk3e-480-80.jpg.webp 480w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/A8VRRXEHq52wu46ej8pk3e-650-80.jpg.webp 650w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/A8VRRXEHq52wu46ej8pk3e-970-80.jpg.webp 970w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/A8VRRXEHq52wu46ej8pk3e-1024-80.jpg.webp 1024w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/A8VRRXEHq52wu46ej8pk3e-1200-80.jpg.webp 1200w\" data-sizes=\"(min-width: 1000px) 970px, calc(100vw - 40px)\" data-original-mos=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/A8VRRXEHq52wu46ej8pk3e.jpg\" data-pin-media=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/A8VRRXEHq52wu46ej8pk3e.jpg\"\/><source type=\"image\/jpeg\" alt=\"Marc Soler's Colnago TT1\" class=\" lazy-image-van\" onerror=\"if(this.src &amp;&amp; this.src.indexOf('missing-image.svg') !== -1){return true;};this.parentNode.replaceChild(window.missingImage(),this)\" data-normal=\"https:\/\/vanilla.futurecdn.net\/cyclingnews\/media\/img\/missing-image.svg\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/A8VRRXEHq52wu46ej8pk3e-320-80.jpg 320w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/A8VRRXEHq52wu46ej8pk3e-480-80.jpg 480w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/A8VRRXEHq52wu46ej8pk3e-650-80.jpg 650w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/A8VRRXEHq52wu46ej8pk3e-970-80.jpg 970w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/A8VRRXEHq52wu46ej8pk3e-1024-80.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/A8VRRXEHq52wu46ej8pk3e-1200-80.jpg 1200w\" data-sizes=\"(min-width: 1000px) 970px, calc(100vw - 40px)\" data-original-mos=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/A8VRRXEHq52wu46ej8pk3e.jpg\" data-pin-media=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/A8VRRXEHq52wu46ej8pk3e.jpg\"\/><img alt=\"Marc Soler's Colnago TT1\" class=\" lazy-image-van\" onerror=\"if(this.src &amp;&amp; this.src.indexOf('missing-image.svg') !== -1){return true;};this.parentNode.replaceChild(window.missingImage(),this)\" data-normal=\"https:\/\/vanilla.futurecdn.net\/cyclingnews\/media\/img\/missing-image.svg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/A8VRRXEHq52wu46ej8pk3e-320-80.jpg 320w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/A8VRRXEHq52wu46ej8pk3e-480-80.jpg 480w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/A8VRRXEHq52wu46ej8pk3e-650-80.jpg 650w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/A8VRRXEHq52wu46ej8pk3e-970-80.jpg 970w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/A8VRRXEHq52wu46ej8pk3e-1024-80.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/A8VRRXEHq52wu46ej8pk3e-1200-80.jpg 1200w\" data-sizes=\"(min-width: 1000px) 970px, calc(100vw - 40px)\" data-original-mos=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/A8VRRXEHq52wu46ej8pk3e.jpg\" data-pin-media=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/A8VRRXEHq52wu46ej8pk3e.jpg\"\/><\/picture><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption itemprop=\"caption description\" class=\" inline-layout\"><span class=\"caption-text\">Colnago&#8217;s latest time trial bike certainly looks to push the boundaries of aerodynamics, but whether that translates to the road is a different matter <\/span><span class=\"credit\" itemprop=\"copyrightHolder\">(Image credit: Peter Stuart)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"paywall\">Boonen&#8217;s criticism comes just months after Colnago launched two new top-tier bikes, which Poga\u010dar will hope helps him to clinch his \u2013 and perhaps notably, also Colnago&#8217;s \u2013 third <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/tour-de-france\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Tour de France<\/a> victory this summer. During the 2022 Tour, which saw Poga\u010dar lose to Jumbo Visma&#8217;s Jonas Vingegaard, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/news\/colnago-announces-the-tt1-time-trial-bike\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><u>Colnago launched the TT1<\/u><\/a>, a wild-looking time trial bike that sees a proprietary bottle form part of the frame&#8217;s aerodynamic profiling.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"paywall\">At a similar time, the brand unveiled the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/features\/a-detailed-look-at-tadej-pogacars-all-new-prototype-colnago-bike\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><u>Prototipo<\/u><\/a>; a prototype comprising four different carbon layups, from which Poga\u010dar and his UAE teammates would provide feedback to help Colnago decide on the bike&#8217;s final form. The preferred version was subsequently launched as the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/reviews\/colnago-v4rs-review\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><u>2023 Colnago V4Rs<\/u><\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"paywall\">Despite its storied and longstanding history which began in 1952, it&#8217;s reported that Colnago has been through difficulties in recent years. In 2020, the company&#8217;s 88-year-old founder Ernesto Colnago was forced to sell off his majority share to Abu-Dhabi-based investment fund Chimera Investments LLC.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p class=\"paywall\">&#8220;I&#8217;m convinced that Colnago will grow, but they\u2019ve only been back on track recently. It almost fell on its ass a few years back, and they then had to sell, because it was basically bankrupt, and then started again, but you don&#8217;t get from 0 to 100 in a year&#8217;s time in the bike industry.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"paywall\">Ahead of the 2023 season, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/news\/uae-team-emirates-set-to-drop-campagnolo-in-favour-of-shimano-groupsets-in-2023\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">UAE Team Emirates team dropped its groupset and wheel sponsor Campagnolo<\/a>, reportedly paying to move to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/reviews\/shimano-dura-ace-r9200-groupset-first-ride-review\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Shimano&#8217;s Dura-Ace Di2<\/a> groupset, and choosing its wheel sponsor based on its own independent wind tunnel testing. Poga\u010dar is already known for his attention to detail, so you can be sure he and his team will leave no stone unturned in the pursuit of a third Tour de France title. The Slovenian has only nine race days under his belt in 2023 so far but has won four times already. Whether that&#8217;s evidence against Boonen&#8217;s claims or simply a confirmation of Poga\u010dar&#8217;s exceptional talent is impossible to prove.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paywall\"><em>The Wielerclub Wattage podcast is broadcast in Flemish, and quotes were translated by Edith Coen.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<figure class=\"paywall van-image-figure inline-layout\" data-bordeaux-image-check=\"\">\n<div class=\"image-full-width-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"image-widthsetter\" style=\"max-width:1024px;\">\n<p class=\"vanilla-image-block\" style=\"padding-top:66.70%;\"><picture><source type=\"image\/webp\" alt=\"Tadej Pogacar\" class=\" lazy-image-van\" onerror=\"if(this.src &amp;&amp; this.src.indexOf('missing-image.svg') !== -1){return true;};this.parentNode.replaceChild(window.missingImage(),this)\" data-normal=\"https:\/\/vanilla.futurecdn.net\/cyclingnews\/media\/img\/missing-image.svg\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/EZYsK9VNv7N7DxGb2Lt5Je-320-80.jpg.webp 320w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/EZYsK9VNv7N7DxGb2Lt5Je-480-80.jpg.webp 480w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/EZYsK9VNv7N7DxGb2Lt5Je-650-80.jpg.webp 650w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/EZYsK9VNv7N7DxGb2Lt5Je-970-80.jpg.webp 970w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/EZYsK9VNv7N7DxGb2Lt5Je-1024-80.jpg.webp 1024w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/EZYsK9VNv7N7DxGb2Lt5Je-1200-80.jpg.webp 1200w\" data-sizes=\"(min-width: 1000px) 970px, calc(100vw - 40px)\" data-original-mos=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/EZYsK9VNv7N7DxGb2Lt5Je.jpg\" data-pin-media=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/EZYsK9VNv7N7DxGb2Lt5Je.jpg\"\/><source type=\"image\/jpeg\" alt=\"Tadej Pogacar\" class=\" lazy-image-van\" onerror=\"if(this.src &amp;&amp; this.src.indexOf('missing-image.svg') !== -1){return true;};this.parentNode.replaceChild(window.missingImage(),this)\" data-normal=\"https:\/\/vanilla.futurecdn.net\/cyclingnews\/media\/img\/missing-image.svg\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/EZYsK9VNv7N7DxGb2Lt5Je-320-80.jpg 320w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/EZYsK9VNv7N7DxGb2Lt5Je-480-80.jpg 480w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/EZYsK9VNv7N7DxGb2Lt5Je-650-80.jpg 650w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/EZYsK9VNv7N7DxGb2Lt5Je-970-80.jpg 970w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/EZYsK9VNv7N7DxGb2Lt5Je-1024-80.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/EZYsK9VNv7N7DxGb2Lt5Je-1200-80.jpg 1200w\" data-sizes=\"(min-width: 1000px) 970px, calc(100vw - 40px)\" data-original-mos=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/EZYsK9VNv7N7DxGb2Lt5Je.jpg\" data-pin-media=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/EZYsK9VNv7N7DxGb2Lt5Je.jpg\"\/><img alt=\"Tadej Pogacar\" class=\" lazy-image-van\" onerror=\"if(this.src &amp;&amp; this.src.indexOf('missing-image.svg') !== -1){return true;};this.parentNode.replaceChild(window.missingImage(),this)\" data-normal=\"https:\/\/vanilla.futurecdn.net\/cyclingnews\/media\/img\/missing-image.svg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/EZYsK9VNv7N7DxGb2Lt5Je-320-80.jpg 320w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/EZYsK9VNv7N7DxGb2Lt5Je-480-80.jpg 480w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/EZYsK9VNv7N7DxGb2Lt5Je-650-80.jpg 650w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/EZYsK9VNv7N7DxGb2Lt5Je-970-80.jpg 970w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/EZYsK9VNv7N7DxGb2Lt5Je-1024-80.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/EZYsK9VNv7N7DxGb2Lt5Je-1200-80.jpg 1200w\" data-sizes=\"(min-width: 1000px) 970px, calc(100vw - 40px)\" data-original-mos=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/EZYsK9VNv7N7DxGb2Lt5Je.jpg\" data-pin-media=\"https:\/\/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net\/EZYsK9VNv7N7DxGb2Lt5Je.jpg\"\/><\/picture><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption itemprop=\"caption description\" class=\" inline-layout\"><span class=\"caption-text\">Poga\u010dar is already on fine form as the 2023 season ramps up <\/span><span class=\"credit\" itemprop=\"copyrightHolder\">(Image credit: Getty)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cyclingnews.com\/news\/pogacar-disadvantaged-by-bike-sponsor-colnago-says-tom-boonen\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>UAE Team Emirates&#8217; bike sponsor, Colnago, is holding back Tadej Poga\u010dar, according to retired Classics specialist Tom Boonen.\u00a0 Speaking alongside fellow Belgian and former Li\u00e8ge-Bastogne-Li\u00e8ge winner Dirk De Wolf on the Flemish Wielerclub Wattage (opens in new tab) podcast, the pair discussed the quality of manufacturers in the peloton today.\u00a0 &#8220;He&#8217;d ride decisively faster on [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":17925,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6804],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-17924","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cycling"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17924","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17924"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17924\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17925"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17924"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17924"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17924"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}