Cyclist
Ranking the gold bikes of cycling’s Olympic champions
There’s no better way to brag about your Olympic gold medal than by racing on a golden bike. The bikes aren’t quite made of 24-carat precious metal, but since 2004, the men’s gold medalists on the road have been keen to show off their success.
The UCI have tried their hardest to police the amount of Olympic gold that is allowed in the peloton. There is a mandated shade of gold permitted on a rider’s jersey. Paolo Bettini wore a gold jersey in his first race after his win at Athens 2004. Alexander Vinokourov tried wearing an Olympic rings jersey in 2012 but was also asked to drop that.
To keep this list non-exhaustive, each Olympic champion will have one bike selected for this list. The choice is based on style, razzmatazz and relevance. In total, seven riders have used gold bikes. After winning last weekend, we await Remco Evenepoel‘s gold rework on his Specialized time-trial bike. Similarly, another road race champion – and future gold bike owner – will be crowned in Paris on Saturday 3rd August, and hopefully we’ll see gold on the women’s gold medallist’s bike in future too.
7. Primož Roglič, Tokyo 2020
After crashing out of the 2021 Tour de France, Primož Roglič travelled to Tokyo with few optimistic about his chances for gold. However he defeated all opponents on the long course around the Fuji Speedway in Japan. The gold bike we have chosen is his Cervélo P5 from last year’s Vuelta.
The design is fine. That’s an ample way to describe it. The forks are gold, as is the Cervélo lettering. Apart from that, there’s nothing else of note. I guess gold isn’t welcome on aero-optimised time-trial bikes. Overall, it’s just a bit boring, they just switched out the team-standard yellow, and it barely looks different.
On the bright side, at least Roglič wasn’t with the team long enough to get a gold edition of the intergalactic-looking Giro time-trial helmet.
6. Samuel Sanchez, Beijing 2008
Samuel Sanchez scored Spain their first gold medal of Beijing 2008, making him the first Spaniard to win a medal in the Olympic road race, an event that has been part of the Olympics since the Games’ modern inception in 1896.
The Orbea Orca, captured above in 2010, was Sanchez’s bike of choice during his post-Olympic high. There is a Versace-style gold white and black colour scheme through the frameset. The gold accents provide a real dynamism and flow to the bike’s design.
Sanchez embraced golden bar tape and golden cabling, and it even looks like the end of the quick-release skewers are gold-accented. The beauty is in the detail here.
His non-bike add-ons provide some real character to this setup. He wore special Olympic ring socks throughout his golden tenure and opted for a hideous ring-themed helmet for some races. If you look closely at the shoes, you can spot the Olympic rings, with the Olympic colours repeated on the heel and gold dashes across the Sidi shoes. This list is about the bikes, not the clothing, but chapeau.
5. Greg Van Avermaet, Rio 2016
Greg Van Avermaet became ‘Golden Greg’ in 2016 after he defeated Jakob Fuglsang in a reduced sprint by the Copacabana beach to win Belgium a gold medal. In honour of the fallen BMC WorldTour squad, we pick up Van Avermaet’s gold BMC TeamMachine SLR01 from the 2016 Québecois classics.
The bike is very clean. The frameset is wrapped in gold all around. The clean lines and bike also feels very classic. The black lettering on the down tube and forks provides a muted contrast. It’s not as loud as the bikes used by Olympic champions before. The subtle dashes of Olympic ring colours on the top tube feel effortless and slick. It doesn’t distract from the gold theme.
The gold accents on the saddle add some intrigue up top as well, countering the lack of gold on the seatpost and cockpit. However, there’s no commitment to gold cabling, unlike Sanchez’s bike.
There’s not much creativity going on, I’ll be honest. Then again, there’s nothing offensive here. I want a gold bike, and this is just that.
4. Bradley Wiggins, London 2012
Bradley Wiggins had a few gold bikes made in honour of his Olympic victories over the years. On the road, he adopted the golden time-trial bike after winning the time-trial at London 2012. The Pinarello Bolide shown here is from 2015, just after Wiggins took the world time-trial title.
The Papal white and gold returns on Wiggins’ bike. There’s a dash of gold on the head tube and the brakes, and the bike’s branding is applied in gold. Alongside the white of the rainbow jersey, this feels very clean and consistent.
What sets this bike apart is the detailing on the top tube. There’s a golden portrait of Wiggins himself. It’s garish, a little boastful, but mostly playful. Next to the portrait, there’s a British flag flying in the wind. The Olympics is all about countries, so it’s good to see a flag finally make the cut. Further personal touches such as Wiggins’ roundel logo and the ‘Wiggo’ nickname are included on this special bike.
Overall, it’s different to the rest. The border-line bonkers portrait is what moves this bike so high up this list.
3. Alexander Vinokourov, London 2012
There are few victories as rogue as Alexander Vinokourov’s road race gold medal at the London 2012 Olympics. When all eyes were on the sprinters, the Kazakh veteran broke free with a fresh-faced Rigoberto Urán on a flat course around the British capital. It still baffles many to this day, but that only adds to the mystique of Vino.
The bike chosen is from Vinokourov’s final race, the 2012 Clasica San Sebastián. Specialized sent Vinokourov a custom-made Tarmac SL4. The bike is far from humble, it’s a full gold-wrapped frame. The gold, however, is balanced out by the Kazakh baby blue. Surprisingly, these two colours match remarkably well.
I understand that there was maybe a two-week turnaround for this bike to be rolled out for Vino’s last race, but the cabling needs some work. It looks like a dodgy iPhone charging cable rather than the crisp Olympic gear cables. I am also underwhelmed by the lack of gold on the saddle.
Looking at the wheels, there’s a lot going on. Of course, the gold rims look pretty swish, but the spokes are a whole feast for the eyes. I don’t believe these wheels are UCI-permitted anymore.
Vinokourov also released more gold bikes despite retiring quite literally the month after winning gold. Despite never being used in competition, I suggest you check out his final gold bike releases ahead of the 2016 Dubai Tour.
2. Richard Carapaz, Tokyo 2020
Richard Carapaz is the most recent Olympic men’s road race champion. The Ecuadorian claimed the title in Tokyo after escaping from the peloton with 10km to go. Since then, he’s capitalised big time on what will be the shortest reign as Olympic champion in the Games’ history.
To celebrate his Olympic champion status, Pinarello gave Carapaz a crisp golden Dogma. The image above was shot in 2022 ahead of the Giro d’Italia. The frameset is split in half between black and gold. The transition happens at a slightly upward angle reflecting the geometry of the bike.
For me, the cleanest part of the design comes towards the rear. The layered transition of gold in the seat tube is marvellous. The golden seatpost is a nice touch too. There’s a real lack of shiny seatposts in the peloton and this keeps the gold motif running all the way to Carapaz’s derriere.
This is one of the more tame designs, it is simple but well-executed. Sadly the taped timing chip on the fork takes away from the gold rushing through the bike and the gold running through the ‘O’ of Pinarello on the down tube feels a bit out of place. The text is contained nicely throughout the bike, however.
Overall, it looks a little more menacing than the others on this list. It honours that Olympic-jolly but also looks scarily fast.
1. Paolo Bettini, Athens 2004
The cultural zeitgeist of the mid-2000s was truly harrowing. However, it was from this era that the gold bike convention was birthed. Between the internet boom and a sense of impending global recession, Paolo Bettini scored the Olympic gold in 2004 and made gold bikes the norm.
As the father of this tradition, his Time bike from 2005 and 2006 feels like the blueprint for all those to come. I’m glad I now know where the gold bar tape and cabling trend came from. It’s a simple nod to the Olympic gold and it’s also a good way to keep the gold in view from a head-on shot.
The gold, red and black accents through the bike are consistent and not too overboard on the gold. The gold bleeds onto the seatpost and Bettini rides a gold saddle to match his gold helmet and shoes. The gold certainly does not match with the blue of the QuickStep kit, but hey, I’m willing to look past that.
The gold chain is awesome and deserves extra recognition. This is the cherry on top for me.
What do you think? Let us know in the comments or on social media.
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