Let me rephrase, they tested that versus him being in the drops to prove to him that it was faster. Reading what I wrote - ya, it was kinda funny.

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Have you ever wondered if there was more to life, other than being really, really, ridiculously good looking?

Power is not everything.

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Exp001

I need to shed a bit of weight off the bike still so after reading this, I am cutting my bars just at the point where the end of the lever is parrallel to the bars. No sense now in ever getting down in the drops. Ride the hoods for comfort and ride the hoods for aero. SAVE WEIGHT!

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BIG DADDY B FLOW
AERO & LIGHT is RIGHT

Cervelo SLC 5890g/12.98 lbs

Sprinting from the hoods is another matter altogether though, and often not successful. So if you're a sprinter: keep the drops.
If you're not... well then.

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Exp001

not a sprinter but built like one.

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BIG DADDY B FLOW
AERO & LIGHT is RIGHT

Cervelo SLC 5890g/12.98 lbs

I often will use this position when riding alone in headwinds but with my hands placed on top of the stem bar intersection. Brings the elbows in a bit.

Is it safe? Well not really

Does it work? Yeah

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WW Velocipedist Gargantuan

I used to use this position a little on my flat bar upright bike. Kind of hard for me to sustain it on my roadie. Now I just grab the tops right by the stem and kind of scrunch up. Not as aero as resting forearms, but close. For maybe a few minutes, I can also completely drop my body down very close to my hands and get very very aero, almost in an Obree position. Oh, and I think the "aeroness" of drops vs hoods depends on how much drop you typically run. Those who run a ton of drop will already be very low on the hoods with straight arms. I know for me, that drops are more aero (hands and arm fill in the gap behind the drop and my arms are 90 degrees) as I am indeed lower on the drops than on the hoods. Some people's arms/elbows kind of flare out when they are in the drops in order to get lower. My arms are dead straight and I even rest my arm on the bottom of the drop to ensure it's flat and tucked in

the hoods on one of my bikes are a bit higher and the bar hood combo gives me a really flat transition where my hands are grabbing on the hood upper part like if my bars formed a bullhorn bar shape with my elbows lightly resting on the hood bar transition. because i am gripping the hoods and not just resting my hands on the i am able to perform some emergency braking and quick turns. the psition is not as fast as the imaginary tt extention, but it is safer and more comfortable.

I find this position (forearms on bar tops) more comfortable than the drops since your upper body weight is supported by your bones and joints rather than the muscles.

^This^ for me too. Smooth roads, out in the wind, I feel more comfortable with my forearms/elbows on the tops. Rougher roads or heavy crosswinds, holding the hoods to maintain control of the bike and dropping my elbows for aero. I can't maintain it as long as I can maintain the position with forearms on the tops though.

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My Ridley Helium
My Scott Plasma 2

With the old style Shimano STis it's much safer, I use this position when I'm really digging deep chasing somebody or rather chasing the back of the pack.
It helps, I feel.

There must be something legal that you can add to a bike to help with this position. Maybe an aero extension that goes straight across the bars from brake to brake.

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BIG DADDY B FLOW
AERO & LIGHT is RIGHT

Cervelo SLC 5890g/12.98 lbs

A local rider, who is also a multiple masters natl TT and track champion, uses this position a lot. He rides a Venge with an 808/404 combo and has specifically setup the front end of his bike with a slightly higher bar position and flat-topped bars to make it comfortable for the duration of a race. He wraps his bars all the way to the stem and uses a very tacky tape so that he still can maintain control. He also uses a 38cm effective bar (40cm in the drops, 3T Ergonova). The worst he has finished so far this season is 2nd place so it definitely works. His FTP isn't as high as one might think, but he's been in the wind tunnel and knows how to produce power while being compact so it works in the end.

But there has to be a lighter way to do this where you can just bolt it on. Maybe not doing a good job explaining but a simple cross member from under the shifters and aero. Straps on and you are done.

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BIG DADDY B FLOW
AERO & LIGHT is RIGHT

Cervelo SLC 5890g/12.98 lbs