A staggering sum of nearly 165 thousand euros was paid for a rainbow bike belonging to Tadej Pogačar. This is not just any bike of the world champion and Tour de France winner, but the very bike he rode during the summer of 2025 on the Tour stage on Mont Ventoux.
Through the Sotheby’s website, the Colnago Y1Rs ‘stripped black’ was up for sale. According to the auction site, it was the first time a used bike of Tadej Pogačar was publicly auctioned. The bike itself is quite iconic: the rainbow colors are visible on the fork and top tube, having been applied to the frame on the rest day.
For the remainder of the season, Pogačar continued to ride the same Y1Rs. So the bike “witnessed” up close how the Slovenian clinched his fourth Tour victory, reclaimed the world championship title, and took control of the Giro di Lombardia.
More than expected
Bids rapidly escalated. On Monday, December 1, a bid of 15 thousand dollars was placed, and by the end of the auction period, the counter stood at 190,500 US dollars. Converted at the current exchange rate, that is just over 163,750 euros. Sotheby’s had initially aimed for a return between 15,000 and 20,000 euros.
At the end of 2024, the new Colnago Y1Rs was launched and given a retail price by the Italian bike brand of 16,200 euros. There was even a slightly more expensive version, equipped with Campagnolo Super Record Wireless groupset and Campagnolo BORA Ultra WTO wheels, priced at 16,500 euros. The auctioned bike thus sold for ten (!) times as much.
