There are already five different road shoes bearing the S-Works name, but it looks like Specialized is launching yet another pair. Spotted on the feet of Daniel Oss at the Team TotalEnergies training camp last week, and now on the feet of Sian Uitdebloks at the Tour of Saudi Arabia, this unreleased pair is unmistakably a Specialized shoe.

Only a few details are discernible from the original photos of the Total Energies team. The plain black design and the removal of the Velcro strap were obvious, but other details were open to interpretation. However, thanks to some sharp photography by a photographer on a tour of Saudi Arabia, we now have a bit more to elucidate.

First, the latest images confirm that the shoes are S-Works shoes, as the S-Works letters are embossed on the outside of the heel cup. It was also confirmed that the Boa S3-Snap dial, introduced on the S-Works 7, was specially designed with Specialized and is unique to the S-Works brand.

The heel and toe areas are different from any of the existing S-Works shoes. The heel cup is much lower on the sides than the rest, and the large, wrap-around reinforced toe bumper has a smooth finish that blends nicely with the textured upper. The upper itself is dimpled throughout, similar to the Dyneema sections used in Specialized's best cycling shoes, so it is likely that Dyneema is used here as well, although this has not been clearly confirmed.

The tongue, on the other hand, appears to maintain the three-tab leading edge, and the shape of the opening between the instep and the outstep appears to be the same as in the existing 7 shoes.

Rumors suggest two possible names for the new shoes: "S-Works 8" or "S-Works Torch.

The brand has already made lightweight-oriented shoes with Exos, warm-weather-oriented with Vent, sprinter-oriented with Ares, comfort-oriented with Lace, and all-rounder-oriented with the original 7. Given the timing and the style of the shoes, if anything is to be replaced, replacing the original 7 seems most appropriate.

However, Specialized recently launched the S-Works 7 Lace, and our sense is that the brand is committed to the 7 name for some time yet; given the touted potential of the S-Works Torch, the S-Works series and Torch 3.0 would be positioned in the middle of the price range, around £250 to £300.

Given the saturation of options already present in the S-Works series and the high price tag that comes with it, it makes sense for the brand to launch a more affordable option. At this stage, however, there is nothing to suggest that it is more premium than other models bearing the S-Works name.