Pro bike: Peter Sagan’s Specialized S-Works Venge
Aside from day one of this year’s Tour de France, Peter Sagan hasn’t worn his standard team kit since 2011 — and even after the first stage, he immediately traded his Bora-Hansgrohe jersey for the green jersey of the current points leader, since stage winner Mike Teunissen (Jumbo-Visma) couldn’t wear that one and the maillot jaune at the same time. As of Monday, he earned the green for real. To say that Sagan has been very successful in recent years would be quite the understatement.
Given his superstar status in the sport, it makes sense that team sponsor Specialized would not only supply him with his own custom-painted machine, but also an entire line of similarly shimmery gear under the Sagan Collection umbrella, which currently consists of two complete bikes, three framesets, shoes, a helmet, a kit and t-shirt, and even tires (tires!).
Sagan’s bike of choice for most stages of this year’s Tour is the Specialized S-Works Venge, which the company just revamped a few months ago. Improved aerodynamic performance over its predecessor was an expected improvement, of course, but the company also claims that it’s lighter, more structurally efficiently, more comfortable, easier to work on, and — dare I say — it looks better, too.
In Sagan’s case, it’s perhaps more important that that relatively deep-section tubes offer a generously sized canvas for paint, and given moves by several other companies in recent months, it’s clear that shape-shifting, ultra-shimmery finishes are very much en vogue.
As has long been the case with Sagan, his positioning is very aggressive. The stem isn’t quite slammed atop the headset, but it measures 150mm center-to-center, and now that Specialized is making Venge-specific stems in his preferred lengths, he no longer has to resort to non-sponsor components here like he had to do before. One other notable detail is that he runs Shimano Dura-Ace pedals with the longer spindle option; narrower Q-factors aren’t universally better for everyone, after all.
Otherwise, it’s fairly standard fare, with a full Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 disc groupset, Roval deep-section carbon tubulars wrapped in Specialized S-Works tires, a 155mm-wide Specialized S-Works Romin Evo saddle, a pair of Tacx Deva carbon composite bottle cages, Supacaz handlebar tape, and a Wahoo Fitness Elemnt Bolt computer.
Total weight as pictured is 7.43kg (16.38lb), including the computer and empty bottles.
[Please note that this gallery is best viewed on a desktop computer with a big monitor. And you can also find our complete coverage from this year’s Tour de France here.]
Peter Sagan has been on the shimmery paint train for quite a while now, and he’s clearly not getting off of it any time soon.
In bright sunlight, the paint looks positively radiant. But in flat light, it can almost look a bit drab.
A neat way to incorporate Sagan’s personal logo.
Whereas Specialized’s first-generation Venge felt a little half-baked, this current version comes off much more refined, not only in terms of its more modern truncated-airfoil shapes, but also in terms of ride quality and stiffness.
The dropped seatstays present a smaller surface area to the wind. And clearly, Sagan doesn’t make do with a regular name decal on the top tube.
Fully internal cable routing helps keep the front end looking superbly clean.
The rear wheel on Sagan’s Specialized S-Works Venge tucks in tightly behind the cutout in the seat tube.
The wedge-type seatpost binder integrates tidily into the rest of the frame, while still remaining easily accessible from above.
It wasn’t really all that long ago that we only saw these sorts of shapes on dedicated time trial and triathlon bikes.
The hourglass-profile head tube helps reduce the frontal area. Note the flattened shape of the handlebar tops, too, not to mention the heaps of tire clearance through the fork crown.
Sagan has always run a very aggressive position, at times requiring special frames from his team’s supplier. The chunkiness of the extension masks this somewhat, but that stem measures a whopping 150mm from center to center.
The bars are wrapped with Supacaz tape, a company that was started by the son of Specialized founder Mike Sinyard.
Sprint shifters poke out through the tape.
The brake hoses and Shimano Di2 shifter wire don’t pass through the stem; instead, they’re clamped to the bottom with a small clip.
All of the Bora-Hansgrohe team bikes are fitted with full Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 groupsets.
Shimano isn’t known for front shifting problems, but a K-Edge chain catcher provides a bit of extra security, anyway. Better safe than sorry.
There seem to be more Shimano-equipped teams at this year’s Tour de France with Direct Mount rear derailleur hangers, Bora-Hansgrohe included. A small zip-tie helps keep the Di2 wire from getting snagged.
The flush heads on the thru-axles make for slick surfaces, but mechanics now also need to make sure they jump out of the car with the right tools when it comes time for a wheel change.
Bora-Hansgrohe team bikes are fitted with Specialized/4iiii dual-sided power meters. Also note the CeramicSpeed threaded bottom bracket and the longer spindles on Sagan’s Shimano Dura-Ace pedals.
172.5mm-long crankarms for Peter Sagan.
Sagan’s bike is equipped with a 160mm-diameter rotor up front and a 140mm one out back.
The 50mm-deep Roval carbon wheels are wrapped with Specialized S-Works Turbo tubular tires.
Sagan runs a wider pedal stance than what you typically find, as well as a wider saddle. The Specialized Romin Evo that he uses is the company’s widest 155mm size.
The aero carbon fiber seatpost has enough room up top to house the Shimano Di2 junction box.
Team mechanics apply a coating of anti-seize to the saddle clamp hardware to keep it from binding inside the carbon fiber post. There’s also a tiny strip of grip tape on the underside of the saddle to prevent slipping.
Number plate holders are 3D-printed.
Bottles are held in place with Tacx Deva cages.
So, so shimmery.
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