Unreleased BMC time trial bike spotted at Tour de Romandie prologue

A prototype BMC time trial bike has been spotted being ridden during the Tour de Romandie prologue time trial. First spotted by our colleagues over at the Escape Collective, Tudor Pro Cycling rider Tom Bohli was seen aboard an as-yet-unreleased BMC time trial bike.

The Swiss rider was riding a black BMC time trial bike that stood out from the rest of his team's white, black and red BMC TimeMachine 01 Disc models. That current model has been on the market for several years and it looks as though BMC could be planning an overhaul that we may see break cover properly at this year's Tour De France.

In May last year, we covered the release of what BMC was calling 'the world's first F1 bike' which saw a collaboration between BMC and Red Bull Advanced Technologies result in the launch of a prototype TT bike marked Speedmachine. Specific design details on the bike were scarce but it looks like the BMC bike ridden by Bohli shares some of the design features of that prototype.

The frame ridden by Bohli looks to have several differences from the current Timemachine. The most obvious of which can be seen at the front end. The fork looks to have overall wider legs and features an aero profile at the bottom of the leg. The fork legs being wider may well result in a more aerodynamic overall setup when paired with the team's wheels of choice.

The current bike's fork uses what BMC calls the Vmax Aero Design Hinge Design, whereas the prototype bike's fork and head tube junction are a clear move away from this design. The rear of the aero gusset joining the down tube and top tube is also squared off on the new frame. A Wattshop time trial bar setup was also fitted instead of the stock BMC base bar and Profile Design extensions.

The gap between the down tube and front wheel also appears to have increased slightly. Then, moving down into the bottom bracket junction area shows the inclusion of an aero-profiled water bottle which does the job of a fairing making this area more aerodynamic. The current time trial/triathlon guise of the Timemachine uses a similarly shaped aero storage box but is fitted behind the seatpost.

The rear end of the bike is also clearly different with dropped seat stays and a different seatstay / seat tube junction compared to the current frame.

Interestingly, Tudor Pro Cycling lists DT Swiss as an equipment partner, and even though most riders looked to be riding DT Swiss Arc disc and deep section front wheels, at least one rider was running Zipp wheels for the prologue.

We have reached out to BMC for details on the new bike and will update this story if and when we receive more information.