The sticker: the secret weapon of busy leaders

It was an innocuous remark, almost slipped in during an order on his site, which put us back on the trail: Fred Rotger, creator of Rotger Stickers, told us something too often ignored: the sticker has definitively replaced the paintbrush in the professional peloton. And this year again, the Giro d'Italia confirmed it brilliantly.

By Jeff Tatard – Photos: ChatGPT / DR

Remember Isaac Del Toro, the young Mexican star and revelation of the 2025 Giro d'Italia. When he donned the pink jersey the next day, his Colnago V5RS wasn't repainted—it was adorned with pink stickers. The change was quick, clean, and visually spectacular. And above all, it was operational from the very next stage. That's where the power of the sticker lies today.

From decoration to performance

No more last-minute, rough, and impossible-to-reverse paint jobs. The sticker offers a quick, economical, and reversible solution for adapting bikes to the media and symbolic stakes of major races. Because in 2025, every detail counts. The leader's bike must live up to the prestige of the jersey. And it must do so immediately.

What Del Toro and his team are showing us is a discreet but crucial evolution in the way we think about visual communication during races. There's no more repainting between stages. We're gluing, quickly and thoroughly. And when you have the right materials, like those used by Fred Rotger—technical vinyls designed to withstand heat, water, pressure, and miles—the result is as high-quality as it is durable.

Efficiency at the service of style

While Rotger Stickers has established itself in the Île-de-France region as the go-to for customizing speedometers, helmets, and frames, the Giro's example perhaps marks a new milestone: the entry of stickers into high-performance. We're no longer talking about simple decoration or a fashion statement. We're talking about strategic responsiveness. A sticker can transform a bike in less than 10 minutes. A paint job? Several days.

As major teams strive to be ever more agile, more efficient, and more visible, stickers are emerging as a key tool. And it's no compromise: the designs are clean, bright, and perfectly integrated into the bike's aesthetic. The illusion is complete, and often more polished than a rushed paint job.

A future standard?

So, are we witnessing the end of hastily repainted bikes between two stages? Everything seems to indicate so. Stickers are becoming the smart choice for pro teams, combining speed, aesthetics, cost control, and reversibility. They're no longer just the favorite item of Parisian amateurs or customization enthusiasts. Today, they're becoming a standard in the paddocks of the biggest competitions.

And if the big loop in July were to confirm this trend initiated on the Giro, it would not be surprising to see, from tomorrow, Fred Rotger's stickers stuck to the wheel of the yellow jersey.

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