Back when I was bike racing only, there was a local rider who raced at the top end of the national competition level. He used to race our local crits and road races using some 32 spoke open pro's and Gatorskins. Almost everyone else would be riding the fastest set up possible. He'd win most races, it was at the time like a badge of honour to win ok a slower set up. The interesting thing is that when he got beaten, most of the time the following week the person that beat him wild show up on his training set up to race as well.

Point being, good road riders notice those things. They know when a guy is pulling monster turns, and they also know what set up they are riding. Way more respect is given to someone riding a slower set up than fast during group training rides.