brawlo

I think this is the telling comment.

I read this as "we don't want to be seen putting a series of prototype wheels under the athletes. When you see them riding our wheels we will have documented proof that they are the fastest and we need the product available to flood the marketplace."

IMO with the wheels that are out there like the Campag, NZ's Southern Spars, Corimas and BC's 3 spoke that are all unproven but purported to be faster than Mavics, making a faster wheel may be a hard ask.

There is also merit in what you say @carleton about not wanting to release the secret weapon to the public too soon though. I wonder if Aus has a deal not to release the wheels until after the Olympics. It wouldn't be a wise move to have a hand in their development and then have half the field riding the same wheels and lose that advantage