Custom grips for sprint prowess: Matteo Trentin's Colnago V4Rs

Matteo Trentin was one of the strong classics riders that bolstered the Italian Cycling Team's line up for the 2023 World Championships - and he did so on an Italian race bike. Team-mates with Tadej Pogačar at Team UAE Emirates, Trentin's weapon of choice is also a blinged-out Colnago V4Rs.

Although the Italian classic rider's race ended in disaster after a crash saw him retire from the particularly technical course, we got a chance to look at his bike in detail, including some interesting personal touches to his race machine.

For the Team UAE Emirates squad, Conlago unsurprisingly provides its range-topping V4Rs model. The same frameset that has piloted Pogačar to so many wins this season sits as an all-round race machine with reserved truncated aero profiling but also striking a balance with weight.

Shimano also provides its highest level gear, the Italian's bike being covered in Shimano Dura-Ace r9270 Di2. Trentin opts for a 54/40 chainring setup at the front coupled with an 11-32 cassette at the rear, which is becoming ever more popular among the pro ranks, even on challenging courses such as the World Championships.

At the front of the bike, you'll find a currently unreleased one-piece bar and stem from American brand Enve, which first broke cover at the Tour de France. Details are still thin on the ground for the new cockpit, but it looks to be an all-out aero offering,  only Trentin's setup, in particular, had some intriguing modifications. 

At a glance, you'd be forgiven for thinking the bulge on the drops of each handlebar is due to an extra bar tape wrap for added comfort, but the real modification is far more customized.

Underneath the bar tape, the UAE Team mechanics have bonded on a customized hand grip for the Italian rider. This, we think, allows him to setup his hand position perfectly every time in the drops - especially important for someone with such sprinting prowess as Trentin.

A closer look and even holding the bars also revealed that the shims place your hand in the perfect position to access the sprint shifter, a true pro bike custom detail.

Team UAE Emirates are also sponsored by Italian component manufacturer, Carbon Ti. Its new X-Rotor SteelCarbon 3 rotors can be found in 160mm iteration at the front, and smaller 140mm at the rear. 

The rotors weigh in at just 98 grams for a 160mm rotor, which saves 24 grams over the Shimano Dura-Ace equivalent - proof that teams still go the extra mile to save those precious grams.

Rolling duties on Matteo's Colnago are too handled by Enve, with the Italian opting for the SES 6.7s. Hinted in the name, the wheels are 60mm depth up front, and 70mm at the rear - pretty deep again for a hilly course.

Tyres of choice for Trentin are the Continental GP5000 TR in a 25mm depth. Where some teams are making the move to wider 28mm tyres, UAE seem happy on narrower rubber - but we wonder, on the grippy UK road surfaces, if 28s would have been a better choice!