An Instagram post from a Red Bull - Bora - hansgrohe WorldTour team training camp appears to confirm the presence of a new Specialized Tarmac SL9 (and what we suspect is a new Hammerhead rearview radar).
Photobombing the image from the top of a team car, the new race bike is distinctive for its noticeably flaring fork crown.
The design also sees the leading edges of the fork blades set further forward than on the Tarmac SL8, something we saw when studio renders leaked online over a week ago.
Otherwise, the design is remarkably similar to the Tarmac SL8's, confirming the brand's all-rounder approach to its flagship race bike is set to continue.
The renders from our previous story showed a redesigned seatpost with a narrower insertion section flaring out to a deeper aero section higher up. That's unclear in this image, owing to the presence of a large sensor device.
The device appears to be a rearview radar, given it has a red light on the top, but its presence is notable because it doesn't clearly resemble a design we've seen before.
The team is sponsored by SRAM, and accordingly uses Hammerhead Karoo bike computers (Hammerhead is owned by SRAM, and Karoo devices are supplied with some of SRAM's AXS groupsets).
It's logical, then, that this rearview radar is a prototype Hammerhead device designed to work with the brand's head units, expanding the brand's ecosystem with a device to rival Garmin's Varia and Wahoo's Elemnt rearview radars.
When will the Tarmac SL9 make its race debut?
So far, it's unclear exactly when the Specialized Tarmac SL9 will make its racing debut.
But it feels a good bet that, if at least one team is testing it now, the bike will be raced wholesale by Specialized's sponsored teams at the Tour de France.
It's also likely that we will see prototypes in upcoming Tour 'warm-up' races, such as the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (formerly the Critèrium du Dauphiné) and Tour de Suisse.
Consider our eyes peeled.
