Reigning individual time trial world champion, Rohan Dennis, chose to ride a BMC Timemachine TT as he rode to victory to defend his title, opting not to use his Bahrain-Merida team-issued Merida Time Warp TT.
The decision to use non-team-issue equipment doesn't constitute a breach of any rules, however.
When it comes to representing national federations at the UCI Road World Championships, riders are free to choose their equipment, though the pressure from trade teams and sponsors is ever-present, as Linda Villumsen learned when she rode a blacked-out, non-team-issue bike to the world time trial title in 2015, and was nearly sacked on the spot by UnitedHealthcare bosses.
The underlying battle over equipment came to the fore following Dennis' sudden withdrawal from the Tour de France on stage 12 - one day before the individual time trial that the Australian was the hot favourite to win.
Dennis' aversion to Merida's time trial bike - the Time Warp TT - was one of the many reasons cited, and the 29-year-old hadn't raced since.