At Friday evening’s press conference with Dutch-speaking media, the Belgian team revealed plans to use bottle handups as a communications channel at the UCI Road World Championships.
Already tested with the Belgian under-23 squad, the system involves sticking written notes onto bottles handed to riders in the feed zone. With race radios banned, this gives Sport Directors a way to relay race updates, such as breakaway gaps, the composition of groups up the road and instructions on when to chase or attack.
Belgium will continue using roadside white boards as well, with the bottles providing another way to get information into the bunch.
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“It’s no genius invention. It’s existed for a long time. But I’ve never raced like that. For me it’ll be new,” said Wout van Aert.
Van Aert has been outspoken about his dislike of racing without radios, and explained that riders cannot always get back to the team car for information. As such, he welcomed anything that could improve his understanding of the race.
In a peloton of around 180 riders, he explained, it is impossible to see exactly who is ahead, how much time they have or who has been dropped.
The experiment comes with potential downsides, however. A message only works if the intended rider collects the bottle.
“If you miss a bottle and there’s an important message on it, you haven’t seen it,” said Remco Evenepoel, who believe sthe tactic still needs some fine-tuning.
Secrecy presents another complication. A bottle carrying a message reportedly reached a cameraman during the under-23 race, which led to Van Aert joking about the team needing a secret code.
Come Sunday, the Belgians have 12 laps of the Montréal circuit to perfect their bottle-hand-up tactic.
Belgium is lining up with Evenepoel and Van Aert as co-leaders, giving the team options but also a potential challenge. Evenepoel can attack from distance, while Van Aert provides a formidable option if a small group reaches the finish together. But the question is whether Belgium can make those strengths work together or if the two leaders will divide the team.
Pauwels believes that the race circumstances will determine which leader takes precedence.
Sunday’s elite men’s road race covers 273.7 kilometres with 3,803 metres of elevation gain, starting in Brossard before reaching the Montréal circuits. The race starts at 9 a.m. EDT / 3:00 p.m. CEST.
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