Ever wondered what happens to the bikes used by the pros at the end of the season? Contrary to popular assumption - and presumably the desires of every aspiring pro - the riders don't get to keep them.
Okay, occasionally they do, especially for bikes ridden to special victories or during particularly fruitful seasons, but the majority go back to the team and are either gifted to sponsors, stripped for parts, or sold off quietly.
To that last point, Italian website BikeRoom is aiming to remove the 'quietly' and connect the seller with the general public. It has previously sold Tadej Pogacar's time trial bike for €35,000, and right now it has one of the bikes ridden by Tour de France champion Jonas Vingegaard in the 2022 season up for sale.
It's probably not the bike he used to actually win the Tour in 2022, mainly because this is the Cervelo Caledonia 5 and he spent the majority of his race aboard the brand's lightweight R5 and aero S5, but there's every chance it was used in lesser races, and a great likelihood he used it for training.
It's a 54cm, and it's equipped with Shimano Dura-Ace Di2, which was used by the team before making the switch to SRAM.
If you came here looking for a used-bike bargain, this one probably isn't for you as it'll set you back the princely sum of €13,390. That's more than the price of the bike if you were to go into a shop and ask for a new one. Naturally, the allure of riding a Tour champion's bike adds value, and this is probably more of a collector's item than something you'll fit mudguards onto and ride in winter.
The Danish superstar isn't the only big name from Jumbo Visma (nowadays known as Visma-Lease A Bike) whose bike is on sale at the moment though. Only two riders from the Black-And-Yellow-Brigade could claim to be bigger names than a man who has won two Tours de France, and they are Wout van Aert and Marianne Vos.
There are not one but three bikes bearing the Van Aert sticker, oddly in different sizes. There are two R5-CX cyclocross bikes, both sized 58cm, presumably with new bearings following a season of constant pressure washing. And then there's a 56cm Caledonia 5; one expects the smaller size is due to that bike's comparatively relaxed position.
Luckily for fans of the multidisciplinarian, these bikes are cheaper, but they will still set you back €10,647.54 each.
Perhaps the most visually alluring bike among the collection is the World Champion's Edition R5-CX previously belonging to Vos, with its rainbow fork replacing the usual yellow.
This is a size 51 and will set you back a slightly-less painful €8,516.39. If you'd prefer to save money, or to avoid leading people into a false pretence about your cyclocross abilities, then her standard (non-World-Champion) R5-CX is also available for €7,860.66.
Naturally, the site isn't limited to Jumbo-Visma bikes, and there are plenty of other teams that you can now pretend to ride for.
Those on a tighter budget will find better deals elsewhere. There's a Giant Propel from Team Jayco Alula with 52% off, yours for less than €5,000; Tanja Erath's Cannondale SuperSix is there at under €4,000, and there's even a Bottecia Emme from the 2022 Team Drone Hopper-Androni squad, if you'd prefer to go more left-field with your pro team cosplay.
