Tadej Pogačar’s (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) Colnago Y1Rs “Stripped Black” has turned from climbing weapon to auction-room phenomenon, with Sotheby’s auction page confirming bids have already hit $65,000 USD, three times the original $15,000–$20,000 estimate, with 65 bids in and the sale not closing until 5 December.
This is not just any pro bike. The raw-carbon Y1Rs, brushed with discreet rainbow accents, debuted on 22 July 2025 on stage 16 from Montpellier to Mont Ventoux, then became Pogačar’s talisman for the most dominant run of his career. He sealed a fourth Tour de France, defended his World Championship in Kigali, added the European title and then a record fifth Il Lombardia, all on this single machine.
Colnago’s Y1Rs is the brand’s aero thoroughbred, claimed to be 19% more aerodynamic and 3.5% stiffer than the V4R, yet this particular build was stripped back to keep the weight just over 7 kg. It was on this model that Pogačar ripped up Ventoux from Bédoin in 53:47 for the 20.74 km segment, a ride that instantly gave the bike its own mythology.
Sotheby’s is selling the bike in its “Colnago: Legends & Icons” auction – Lot 504 – with no reserve, a key reason the price has surged past Pogačar’s previous C68 Fleur-de-Lys, which fetched roughly $59,000 in 2024, and into territory normally reserved for Eddy Merckx-era artefacts.
Whether the eventual buyer hangs it on a wall or occasionally rolls it out on sunny Sundays, they will own something vanishingly rare: a complete season of modern dominance, distilled into one stripped-black frame.
Image credits: Sotheby's/ Colnago
