UAE Tour pro bike: Jay Vine’s Colnago V4Rs

Vine heads the overall standings after the opening three stages ahead of Ben O’Connor, as Australian riders lead the way

05:05, Thursday 22nd February 2024

Tom Hallam-Gravells

Online Production Editor

Jay Vine's Colnago V4Rs

UAE Team Emirates
- Nationality United Arab Emirates
- Founded 2017
- Team Principal Mauro Gianetti
- UCI Code UAD
- Bike Sponsor Colnago
Jay Vine
- Team UAE Team Emirates
- Nationality Australia
- Age 28
- UCI Wins 5
- Height 1.84m
UAE Tour
- Dates 19 Feb - 25 Feb
- Race Length 976 kms
- Race Category Elite Men
Colnago
One of the most iconic Italian bike brands, Colnago has supplied bikes to some of the best riders in the world, including Eddy Merckx and Tadej Pogačar.
Shimano
Shimano is a bike component manufacturer based in Osaka, Japan. The company is one of the industry’s most popular manufacturers and it makes up around three-quarters of the bicycle component market by value.
ENVE Composites
ENVE Composites is based in the United States and specialises in wheels and components across all of the cycling disciplines.
Prologo
Founded in Italy in 2006, Prologo is a market-leading manufacturer of saddles and other bicycle accessories.

The UAE Tour may be his first race of the season, but Jay Vine (UAE Team Emirates) shows no signs of rustiness. After three stages and two second-place finishes, the Australian tops the overall standings, leading compatriot Ben O’Connor at the head of the race after the Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale rider soared to victory on stage 3’s summit finish atop Jebel Jais - a day that quickly turned into the Australia show.

At only 11 seconds, Vine’s lead is far from secure but he should enjoy some respite over the flatter parcours served up over the next three days, before the race concludes with its regular and often decisive summit finish on Jebel Hafeet. It’s a climb that has served Vine’s team well over the years, specifically Adam Yates who won atop its slopes in 2023. The British rider was expected to shine once again but crashed out on stage 3, leaving a void which Vine ably stepped into.

The Australian will team up with his Colnago V4Rs as he attempts to defend his lead over the final stages. We caught a glimpse of the bike ahead of the race.

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

Colnago V4Rs: One bike for any terrain

While Colnago has other road bikes in its range, UAE Team Emirates stick to the V4Rs for every race. That means that, from tackling crosswinds to the Jebel Hafeet climb, it will pilot Vine throughout the rest of the UAE Tour.

The V4Rs is a do-it-all superbike (picture taken at Tour Down Under)

Released at the end of 2022, the V4Rs had big shoes to fill. Its predecessor, the V3Rs, guided Tadej Pogačar to both of his Tour de France victories, something the V4Rs has so far failed to replicate. It has more than made up for that at the Monuments, though, piloting Pogačar to victory at the Tour of Flanders and Il Lombardia in 2023.

Those wins are testament to the bike’s versatility which, like all superbikes, balances lightweight and aerodynamics in a single package. For his part, Vine took a stage win at the Tour of Turkey plus the overall title at the Tour Down Under atop the bike in 2023.

Read more: Tour Down Under pro bike: Álvaro Hodeg’s Colnago V4Rs

Larger chainrings are now the norm

The opening few weeks of the season have been categorised by the use of larger chainrings, something that became even more apparent at the UAE Tour when Ineos Grenadiers rocked up for the time trial with some monster set-ups. Tobias Foss led the way with his 68t set-up, made possible by Digirit track chainrings.

Jay Vine's 56/44t Shimano Dura-Ace set-up

This trend for larger chainrings isn’t restricted to time trial bikes and we’ve seen multiple riders using larger set-ups on the road. Vine joined that list through this 56/44t Shimano Dura-Ace chainset. Most riders are still running something a little smaller, but not Vine. We encountered the set-up ahead of stage 1, which ended in a sprint, so we suspect he used something a little more compact for the mountain stage.

Vine was using what appeared to be an 11-34t cassette

Contrary to common belief, larger chainrings aren’t always used for their larger gearing. Instead, riders are turning to them in the name of efficiency, as we analysed in a recent article. Check that out below.

Read more: Why bigger is better when it comes to time trial chainrings

Same ENVE wheels, new hubs

To the unsuspecting eye, ENVE’s SES 4.5 wheels look no different to the ones the team used in 2023. There is one change hidden within, though, in the form of new Innerdrive hubs.

These ENVE SES wheels are hiding new Innerdrive hubs

These were introduced by the American brand just before the WorldTour season opener, the Tour Down Under, and will be featured on all of its premium road wheels. Their addition comes with some significant performance benefits, delivering better efficiency and longevity, as well as saving a claimed 60g in weight.

Vine may actually have already experienced all of these benefits as UAE Team Emirates used the hubs for some of 2023. So they’re officially new, but not actually new for the team.

Read more: Wout van Aert’s Cervélo S5 pro bike: A Monument-winning combination?

ENVE one-piece handlebar

This one-piece handlebar was designed for UAE Team Emirates

Throughout 2023, UAE Team Emirates were spotted riding an unreleased ENVE integrated bar and stem. The American brand then released its AR one-piece bar and stem in January.

Vine interestingly used an integrated cockpit for his UAE Tour bike, except it still appears to be different to the one released by ENVE, suggesting that the prototype used by UAE Team Emirates is still under wraps. While the AR has a raised profile around the stem area, the handlebar Vine used doesn’t and is equal the whole way around.