With the opening stage of the Tour de France taking place over a 19.6km team time trial course, teams will have been frantically working to fine-tune their leaders' TT setups in the lead-up to the race.
But it appears Remco Evenepoel's bike sponsor, Specialized, has gone a few steps further, as a new 'prototype' time trial bike and a deep-section front wheel have been spotted hiding in the back of a van at the Tour de France Grand Depart in Barcelona.
And we didn't need to hide in a bush for these photos; we were given permission to shoot in and around the mechanics as they busily worked on building bikes for the team's leaders, and while there, my eagle-eyed colleague Tom spotted the new machine hanging in the back of a nearby open van.
A few quick photos - those you see here - were all we could obtain before one of the mechanics realised his mistake and quickly closed the door.
(Image credit: Future)
What's new
Analysing the photos, the most obvious point of difference is the interaction between the seat tube and the rear wheel.
The seat tube is a notable area of difference between the new bike (behind) and the old bike (in front). (Image credit: Future)
Whereas the old bike had quite a distance between seat tube and rear tyre, this one looks to have filled that space in, and then protrudes beyond the seat stays not too dissimilarly to the recent 'Win Fin' on the Tarmac SL9, or even the 2014 model Shiv that preceded the existing model.
The seat stays themselves remain low and horizontal as per the outgoing model.
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This saddle clamp is a lot sleeker than most (Image credit: Future)
The other big change is the introduction of what appears to be an aero saddle clamp system, integrated into the carbon at the top of the post, rather than a separate bolt-on unit. This removes a bunch of material from beneath the saddle, no doubt improving airflow between the rider's legs.
You can just make out the 'YPE' from the end of the UCI 'Prototype' sticker. (Image credit: Future)
Looking closely, it's possible to see the 'YPE' at the end of the 'Prototype' sticker on the seat tube, and above this on the top tube, it's just possible to make out the 'Evenepoel' sticker to denote which rider will be getting this bike (as if it wasn't obvious).
The front end of the bikes are similar too. (Image credit: Future)
With the old model in front of it obscuring some of the view, it's hard to see if there are any changes at the front end too, but we can at least see that the trailing edge of the head tube looks similar to its predecessor.
You can just about make out 'Fact 12R Carbon' here too. (Image credit: Future)
Interestingly, the down tube logo bears the Specialized name, rather than S-Works. But while that might suggest a lesser-spec frame (S-Works is reserved for the brand's top tier products), the wordmark near the bottom bracket here shows 'Fact 12R Carbon' - the type of fibre used only on Specialized's flagship models.
There's a new Roval time trial wheel here too. (Image credit: Future)
We also spotted a new, much deeper Roval time trial wheel, which looks to be in the region of 90mm deep and specced with the same carbon spokes as found on the latest range of Rapide CLX Sprint wheels.
Upon reaching out to Specialized for comment on the new machine, the brand explained it "relies on feedback from professional athletes in both developing and testing pre-production products in real-world applications. With this top-level feedback, some of these design elements and products eventually show up in future retail product offerings. We call this Project Black."
Josh is Associate Editor of Cyclingnews – leading our content on the best bikes, kit and the latest breaking tech stories from the pro peloton. He has been with us since the summer of 2019 and throughout that time he's covered everything from buyer's guides and deals to the latest tech news and reviews.
On the bike, Josh has been riding and racing for over 15 years. He started out racing cross country in his teens back when 26-inch wheels and triple chainsets were still mainstream, but he found favour in road racing in his early 20s, racing at a local and national level for Somerset-based Team Tor 2000. These days he rides indoors for convenience and fitness, and outdoors for fun on road, gravel, 'cross and cross-country bikes, the latter usually with his two dogs in tow.
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