Giro d’Italia Pro Bike: Primož Roglič’s stunning gold Cervélo P5

There are some bikes that simply look fast, and Primož Roglič’s Cervélo P5 certainly falls into this category. With glitter paint and the patterning of the Olympic rings adorning the frame alongside a shimmering gold Cervélo logo and accents, there is little arguing that this is one of the most stunning time trial bikes on show at this year’s Giro d’Italia. It has served the Jumbo-Visma rider well so far this race, he has finished with two solid sixth places in both time trials so far, his position impressively dialled and aerodynamic. 

The latest version of the Cervélo P5 was introduced in 2019, with Cervélo claiming at the time of launch that this was the fastest bike they’d ever tested, making big improvements when compared to its rim brake predecessor. It was also claimed that the new P5 was stiffer and lighter, with Cervélo explaining it pushed the limits UCI regulations for time trial rig geometries, ensuring the bike just about fit in the predetermined boxes the UCI set out. Since then, the bike has certainly been validated by the unprecedented success of both the Jumbo-Visma’s men’s and women’s teams in recent seasons.

When it comes to the bike’s geometry, the P5 features many traditional elements of the modern time trial bike, with a dropped downtube that curves closely behind the front wheel to manage airflow as well as a seat tube which extends backwards around the edge of the rear wheel. The gold forks on Roglič’s bike are extremely deep and his position is low and aggressive.

The Slovenian rider is using what look like the Vision TT Metron TFE Pro P5 extensions on top of Cervélo’s base bar, these are fully-carbon extensions designed specifically for the P5. They are raised high in order for Roglič to achieve the time trial position that has become extremely common amongst today’s peloton with added knowledge of aerodynamics, whereby the head is tucked in behind handlebars to create an extremely small frontal area. Interestingly, Roglič has very little padding on his handlebars where his elbows will sit compared to other riders who prefer more support here. He has opted for a small area of handlebar tape at the end of the base bars, presumably to aid grip when braking and changing gears. His Garmin head unit sits neatly in between the extensions, easily visible but not a hindrance to aerodynamic gains and finishing off an impressively neat cockpit.

Roglič’s bike featured an aero chainring which looks like it could be 58T with a 10-26T cassette. He opted to use a 1x setup, likely due to the relatively flat terrain he has faced during the time trials so far in this Giro d’Italia. It looks like he is using a waxed chain on his SRAM Red groupset with a power meter on the right crank. He looked to be using a 140mm rotor on the front, presumably for aerodynamic gain.

He was using Speedplay aero pedals which aid aerodynamics as they bring down stack height to give riders a smaller centre of gravity and make them sit lower on the bike.

The bike featured a Fizik time trial saddle which has a cut out nose in order to help riders sit in a forward and aggressive position.

Roglič’s bike featured a Reserve 77 Infinity Disc wheelset. He used a 77mm rim depth Reserve front wheel with 25mm Vittoria Corsa Graphene 2.0 tyres on both the front wheel and the rear Reserve disc wheel.