Oscar Sevilla revives retro puncture protection hack at Vuelta a San Juan - Cyclingnews

In a video posted to the team's Instagram ahead of the final stage, 46-year-old Sevilla proudly shows off his "trick", in which he's wrapped a few inches of electrical tape - at a cost of just a few cents - around the seat stays and fork legs of his $14,000 S-Works Tarmac SL7 race bike.

Sevilla's hack is a makeshift replica of a small add-on accessory found on bikes from as far back as the 1940s, possibly further.

While they went out of fashion long ago, it is still possible to buy them, with retro-connoisseurs Reneherse offering a pair for $18.00(opens in new tab).

Interestingly, Sevilla's bike is equipped with Roval Rapide CLX II aero wheels – as confirmed by this separate Instagram post – which are tubeless compatible.

Specialized does make a number of tubeless-ready tyres, including the new Turbo range, so it's unclear why Sevilla hasn't simply taken advantage of the tech available to him.

Alongside this, his love for WorldTour racing and eagle eyes mean he's often breaking tech stories from the pro peloton too.