If you look closely at the time trial bike setup of current maglia rosa-wearer Tadej Pogačar and his UAE Team Emirates teammates at the Giro d'Italia, you’ll notice something new. Aside from the pink touches all over the Slovenian’s bike, Pogačar and the team are using prototype bar extensions from Enve, which have seen the team net several time trial podiums already this season.
These TT bars are part of several development projects between the Utah-based carbon experts and the team.
“The goals of the project were to allow greater adjustability and reduce weight compared to the leading brands on the market,” Enve’s Director of Marketing, Neil Shirley, tells Cycling Weekly.
“The molded carbon parts are made in-house and although we're still in the very early stages of collecting feedback from the team, we're excited by the results and believe the initial goals have been achieved.”
Aboard the Colnago TT1, equipped with Enve's SES 6.7 front wheel and rear disc wheel as well as these new handlebar extensions, the UAE team has successfully raced to podium sweeps at the UAE Tour time trial and almost the same at the Tour de Romandie , a team time trial win at Paris-Nice and an individual time trial victory at Tirreno-Adriatico.
The aero extensions are still in the development stage, therefore, weight, price, performance metric and dates for when it will be on sale are not yet available.
Enve and UAE started working together at the start of 2023 after the team reached out to Enve, Cycling Weekly understands. UAE independently tested just about every wheelset on the market and determined Enve wheels is what they wanted.
The wheels plus the brand's ability to create special projects and prototypes in-house is what secured the partnership. Enve supplies the team with its SES line of wheels and aero cockpits, and in return, the team provides feedback on the brand’s current and prototype products.
“We are leading our component development with UAE Team Emirates, and once we feel the initial rider and mechanic feedback process is complete, we will expand the project to include additional teams,” Shirley said about the prototype process.
Pogačar, we’re told, is very interested in his equipment and has been an asset to Enve’s product development. In fact, Enve’s latest integrated aerobars are a result of their collaboration, and were specifically designed to meet the team’s needs. The bars currently on Pogačar’s bike, however, are not the $1200 bars Enve released this spring. Instead, they’re the new Enve SES Pro Team One-Piece and will be available commercially soon.
