Bianchi has released a statement regarding French sprinter Hugo Hofstetter’s mechanical issues at the Grand Prix de Denain one-day race yesterday.
The Team Arkéa-Samsic rider had two pairs of carbon handlebars fail on his Bianchi Oltre RC team race bike within the last fifty kilometres of the race eventually leading to him abandoning the race. The first failure came as a result of a crash just under fifty kilometres from the line which saw the left-hand side of his one-piece carbon fibre handlebars fail.
The break occurred around the point the tops of the bars begin their turn towards the brake levers, and Hofstetter was forced to ride on with handlebars dangling before he could receive service from his team car, the only thing connecting the handlebars being the Shimano hydraulic brake hose.
After receiving a fresh bike, television images showed Hofstetter riding at around 26 kilometres to go on the race’s 10th cobbled sector at Monchaux-sur-Ecaillon this time with the right-hand side of his handlebars snapped in exactly the same way.
A second crash wasn’t televised this time and it looked like the second failure must have been a direct result of an impact or perhaps the heavy vibrations from the cobbled sector.
The pair of incidents garnered much attention from race commentators and on social media and today manufacturer Bianchi released a statement with its interpretation of the incident – defending its equipment.
In a statement released today, Bianchi stated it wanted to clarify the following three points and claimed the brand had been in constant contact with both team and rider following the race’s finish.
“As already communicated by Team Arkea-Samsic, the breaks suffered by the handlebar of the Bianchi Oltre RC used by the athlete were caused by two different falls in which the rider was unluckily involved, during two separate but proximate segments of the race. In both cases, the incident caused a severe impact on the component.”
It was unclear from initial broadcasts whether the second failure occurred as a result of a crash, but Bianchi’s claims indicate a second crash and subsequent impact were responsible. Bianchi went on to defend the safety standards of its equipment.
“Like all Bianchi products, Oltre RC handlebars have successfully passed validation test protocols in accordance with International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 4210-5…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at CyclingNews RSS Feed…