Shots Fired! Boonen Bashes Colnago, It Punches Back

2 km/h: that’s how much faster former pro Dirk De Wolf said Tadej Pogacar would be if he didn’t ride a Colnago.

The story threatened to break the internet (as far as wattage nerds experience it) after Tom Boonen joined De Wolf on the Wielerclub Wattage podcast on March 2, saying the 2020 and 2021 Tour de France champion was riding at a disadvantage on his “old school” bike.

Tom Boonen and Dirk De Wolf Throw Shade

“If Tadej Pogačar gets on a bicycle from Jumbo-Visma, Ineos, or Soudal-Quick Step tomorrow, the rest will have no chance,” De Wolf said on the show. “On those bikes, he will pedal another 2km/h faster.”

“[Colnago] undoubtedly has a good product there, but it is like a Ferrari and a Porsche: there is still a difference between the brands,” he later quipped.

Boonen offered, “Colnago did indeed have a dip a while ago. It remains a bit of an old-school bike now and they haven’t quite mastered the aero thing yet although they are now catching up.”

Shade thrown, the Italian builder now seeks to throw it right back — by saying, essentially, “oh yeah? Try me.”

Colnago Answers: ‘Try Me’

Colnago announced today it’s inviting Boonen and his colleagues to test the V4Rs, its thoroughbred racer, at its headquarters in Cambiago, Italy. Then, it challenged the cohort to a “public conversation” concerning data it suggests De Wolf sourced to identify the 2km/h difference in performance with other brands in the podcast.

Colnago’s statement derided their comments as “off-the-cuff.” And it emphasized Colnago is orchestrating the throw-down “at its [own] expense.”

“We are of course in contact with the teams on a daily basis and we have not heard a single complaint about the competitiveness of our bikes. In fact, they are ecstatic about the equipment we have provided thus far,” Colnago CEO Nicola Rosin said in the statement.

The two-pronged showdown — test ride and public forum — is set for March 18, shortly before the Milano-Sanremo Spring Classic. That’s “if the invite is accepted” by Boonen and co., Colnago pointed out.

There’s no indication yet whether Boonen has checked “yes” or “no” on the invitation to the playground after school. If he and his cohort do go toe-to-toe with the inflamed Italian bike maker, we imagine they’ll be mixing it up over stats between Colnagos and Pinarellos, Cervelos, and so on — not Ferraris.