Hmm, this doesn't look particularly good. Why all the fuss?(Image credit: James Huang)
An extra hole at the bottom plus a short aluminum stub is all that's required to secure the cage to the frame but that aluminum stub also apparently prevents the bottle from fully inserting into the cage.(Image credit: James Huang)
The Cervélo Test Team feared the UCI would declare the P4's unique flush-mounted proprietary water bottle illegal on the starting line so it modified some Elite aero carbon fiber bottle cages to fit in the uniquely sized recess.(Image credit: James Huang)
Riders were reportedly having trouble with bottle retention on their reconnaissance rides so team mechanics and staff had to make some last-minute modifications to get the bottles to stay put.(Image credit: James Huang)
The solution? A short strip of Velcro to help hold the bottle to the cage.(Image credit: James Huang)
Cervélo Test Team mechanics were seen scrambling about their pit area making some uncharacteristically last-minute modifications to each rider's Cervélo P4 – just barely two hours before their riders' scheduled start time.
The problem appeared to center around the team's modified carbon fiber bottle cages, which apparently wouldn't hold on to the matching aero bottles tightly enough over stage 4's occasional bumps. The P4's stock proprietary bottle and cage system would have been fine in this respect but the team had heard that the UCI might take issue with its flush-fit design and instead went with an Elite aero system that the team tweaked to work.
Those modifications wouldn't quite let the matching bottle fully snap into its receptacle as usual though and given the timing, removing and re-machining the short aluminum plates used to secure the cage to the frame wasn't an option. The solution? Short strips of adhesive-backed Velcro added in between the bottle and cage for tad extra grip – and of course, the team mechanics had some in the truck.
In the end, the team appears to have come across the finish line with all bottles on hand but the situation was obviously far from ideal. Rest assured though that the mechanics will have something more proper figured out before the final individual time trial around Lac d'Annecy on July 23.
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