Pro bike: Nils Politt’s Colnago V4Rs for the Classics

Nils Politt has become a familiar sight at Classics races over the last few years, with his trademark pain face frequenting the front of races. It was the same again on Opening Weekend as the German rider came close to making the perfect start to his Classics campaign, falling just short of the win at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad as he lost out in a two-up sprint against Jan Tratnik (Visma-Lease a Bike).

Seeing Politt in the mix at a Classics race was nothing new, except this time things were different as the German was racing in new team colours having made the switch to UAE Team Emirates over the off-season. With the switch came a new bike in the form of the Colnago V4Rs, a bike that Politt will hope can power him to Classics success over the months ahead.

We got our hands on Politt’s bike at Volta ao Algarve ahead of Opening Weekend to find out how he had it set-up. Here’s what we found.

• Read more: UAE Tour pro bike: Jay Vine’s Colnago V4Rs

Colnago V4Rs: From the Classics to the Grand Tours

While Colnago has other bikes in its road offerings, the V4Rs is the sole model UAE Team Emirates use throughout the season. From the Grand Tours to the Classics, it’s a bike for any terrain.

That versatile capability is backed up by results in its first full WorldTour season in 2023, which returned two Monument victories at the Tour of Flanders and Il Lombardia, courtesy of Tadej Pogačar, plus three Tour de France stage wins.

It’s an impressive palmarès but still arguably falls short of its predecessor’s achievements, the V3Rs, which it replaced at the end of 2022. Along with Il Lombardia titles, the V3Rs also assisted Pogačar in both of his Tour de France overall titles.

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Nils Politt's Colnago V4Rs

UAE Team Emirates will hope that the V4Rs can emulate that Tour de France success in 2024, but the bike will first cast its eye to the Classics where it will be piloted by the team’s bolstered Classics squad for 2024. New additions to the team include Tim Wellens and Politt, both of whom bring with them a wealth of Classics experience.

In the Colnago V4Rs, they’ll be able to rely on a bike that Colnago says is better than the V3Rs in almost every way. It’s more aerodynamic, to the tune of 13.2 watts at 50kph according to Colnago, which reaches out to 27.7 watts with an “advanced aero setup”.

Shed grams and a stiffer frame also add to the performance package, resulting in a bike that was already a proven race winner during its first full official season in the WorldTour peloton.

• Read more: UAE Tour time trial tech gallery: New bikes, monster gearing and custom cockpits

Carbon-Ti chainrings with Shimano groupset

Like the majority of teams in the WorldTour peloton, UAE Team Emirates use Shimano’s Dura-Ace groupset, except they use a twist on the common recipe in the form of Carbon-Ti chainrings.

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Carbon-Ti chainrings were swapped in for the stock Shimano Dura-Ace options

In the case of Politt’s bike, these were the X-CarboRing EVO in, according to the text on the outer chainring, a 55/40t set-up. Carbon-Ti doesn’t sell a 55t larger chainring on its site and it even adds the UAE Team Emirates logo next to the specific products the team uses, which includes both 56t and 54t offerings.

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A, by our count, 11-34t cassette

Only the chainrings are subbed out with the rest of the Dura-Ace groupset remaining as standard, including the cranks and spider with the in-built Dura-Ace power meter.

• Read more: 2024 Men's WorldTour bikes: A guide to the bikes, groupsets, and tech of the top-tier teams

Enve wheels and handlebars

It was a significant off-season for ENVE which stepped up its pro cycling participation by becoming bike sponsors for Team TotalEnergies.

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The ENVE SES 4.5 front wheel

The American brand has become better known for its range of components which are used by UAE Team Emirates, as displayed on Politt’s bike. This included the ENVE SES 4.5, a wheelset ENVE says was originally “designed for the cobbles and crosswinds of Paris-Roubaix”. It’s the second largest wheelset in ENVE’s top-tier SES line-up, in terms of rim depth, delivering a 50mm deep front rim and a 56mm deep rear. The 25mm internal and 32mm external rim widths are on-trend, optimising the wheels for wider tyres. According to ENVE, a minimum 27mm wide tyre is required, highlighting the industry's trend towards wider tyres.

• Read more: ENVE bikes enter pro peloton with TotalEnergies partnership

Beyond its wheels, ENVE also manufactures a wide range of components, including handlebars, which UAE Team Emirates use. On Politt’s bike this was in the form of a one-piece bar and stem, although this differs to the only one-piece system ENVE currently sells on its website, the AR In-route which was only released at the beginning of 2024.

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Politt's bike had a ENVE one-piece bar and stem

Elsewhere on the bike, Politt’s saddle of the choice was the Prologo Nago C3.

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While most riders use a saddle with a cut out, Politt doesn't

It was finished with Elite Leggero bottle cages.

Bike Specification