Bianchi has launched a press release concerning French sprinter Hugo Hofstetter’s mechanical points on the Grand Prix de Denain one-day race on Thursday.
The Arkéa-Samsic rider had two pairs of carbon handlebars break on his Bianchi Oltre RC crew race bike throughout the final 50km of the race, finally resulting in him abandoning the race. The primary drawback got here on account of a crash just below 50km from the road which noticed the left-hand aspect of his one-piece carbon fibre handlebars fail.
The break occurred across the level the tops of the bars start their flip in the direction of the brake levers, and Hofstetter was compelled to journey on with handlebars dangling earlier than he might obtain service from his crew automobile, the one factor connecting the handlebars being the Shimano hydraulic brake hose.
After receiving a contemporary bike, tv photos confirmed Hofstetter driving at round 26km to go on the race’s tenth cobbled sector at Monchaux-sur-Ecaillon, this time with the right-hand aspect of his handlebars snapped in precisely the identical manner.
A second crash wasn’t televised, but it surely appeared just like the second failure should have been a direct results of an influence much like the primary.
The pair of incidents garnered a lot consideration from race commentators and on social media and producer Bianchi launched a press release with its interpretation of the incident, defending its tools.
Bianchi said it needed to make clear the next three factors and claimed the model had been in fixed contact with each crew and rider following the race’s end.
“As already communicated by Group Arkea-Samsic, the breaks suffered by the handlebar of the Bianchi Oltre RC utilized by the athlete had been brought on by two totally different falls during which the rider was unluckily concerned, throughout two separate however proximate segments of the race. In each circumstances, the incident brought about a extreme influence on the element.”
It was unconfirmed from preliminary broadcasts whether or not the second failure occurred on account of a crash, however Bianchi’s claims point out a second crash and subsequent influence had been accountable. Bianchi went on to defend the protection requirements of its tools.
“Like all Bianchi merchandise, Oltre RC handlebars have efficiently handed validation check protocols in accordance with Worldwide Group for Standardization (ISO) 4210-5 rules and are due to this fact secure to make use of by each our prospects {and professional} athletes outfitted with Bianchi.”
The incident echoes a technical failure of Mathieu van der Poel’s handlebars at Le Samyn in 2021, nonetheless right here, Bianchi clearly attributes the tools harm to the crash, fairly than design fault such was the case with Canyon’s subsequent recall.
“The potential breakage of a carbon fiber handlebar is a predictable situation as a consequence of a robust influence generated by uncontrollable dynamics.”
Lastly, Bianchi concluded by saying: “Bianchi holds the protection of its prospects {and professional} athletes within the highest consideration. The corporate continuously invests in analysis and improvement, in addition to in laboratory and on-road testing actions to ensure the secure use of its merchandise.”
Group Arkéa-Samsic, nor Hofstetter himself have commented on the incident to this point.
