Vittoria: Tires not to blame for Thomas De Gendt’s crash, fault lies with the rock

Vittoria has come out swinging, saying the tires not to blame for Thomas De Gendt’s crash. The tire company is clapping back after Adam Hansen spoke out about hookless rims following Thomas De Gendt’s crash during Stage 5 of the UAE Tour. The ex-professional cyclist from Australia expressed strong opposition from the the rider’s union, theCPA, stating they are “100 percent against” them. De Gendt encountered an unusual high-speed crash on Friday, and post-race images revealed that the tire of the Lotto Dstny rider had dislodged from the rim. Additionally, the tire insert became entangled with his fork. The Belgian rider took to social media to share details about the crash, expressing uncertainty about its cause.

CPA concerned

In an interview with Velo, Hansen expressed significant concern regarding the rims. “A special thank you to the Soudal–Quick-Step team for the help after my crash. They gave me a new wheel, fixed my bike, and did the concussion protocol. Our car was behind the break and unable to help at that moment,” he posted. “And if someone has the images. I would like to know what I hit with my front wheel.” The crash is the reason the CPA strongly opposes hookless rims. According to Hansen, tires should not dislodge from a rim, especially considering that hookless tires have a maximum psi rating of 73. In the event of an impact, the pressure can exceed this limit, leading to tire detachment.

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Hansen highlighted instances where teams reported that tires, when exposed to sunlight, simply popped off after being installed. Nevertheless, manufacturers strongly prefer hookless rims due to their simpler production process, which involves fewer molds, as clarified by Hansen. He further pointed out that these rims contribute to weight reduction, streamlining the manufacturing workflow, and manufacturers actively advocate for their adoption. Hookless rims lack the small notch for the tire bead to hook onto, relying on the tire bead’s tensile strength and tire pressure for stability. However, it is advised to keep the tire pressure for hookless rims below 73 psi for safety reasons.

Vittoria: don’t blame tires

On Wednesday, both Vittoria and Zipp released statements about the crash. “In the aftermath of Thomas De Gendt’s crash during the UAE Tour last week, there has been some discussion about the hookless system. It is crucial to clarify that the rim’s failure resulted from an impact with an object, in this case, a rock, and is unrelated to the hookless rim design,” the statement from Vittoria read.

“The intensity of the impact caused the rim/wheel to break in a manner that prevented the tire from staying securely in place. The force was so severe that it tore apart the tire insert.” The statement went on to say it is crucial to highlight that the incident did not stem from any incompatibility issues among the components employed by the team. The Vittoria Corsa PRO 28mm TLR underwent comprehensive testing on various hookless commercial wheels, including models from Zipp (such as 353NSW).
“The compatibility was extensively verified through laboratory tests, outdoor field tests, and races, with official communication available on the SRAM website. As active members of ETRTO, we consistently design our products in strict adherence to ETRTO norms, encompassing both the current ETRTO standards and ‘Previous Standard Data (PSD)’ ETRTO,” the statement concluded.

Zipp makes a statement

As far as the actual rims, Zipp also weighed in. “Zipp takes the performance and safety of its products very seriously. Regarding the recent WorldTour incident, we are looking into it and working directly with the teams and riders to make sure we understand exactly what happened,” a Zipp rep said to cyclingnews.com. “Once we have a clear picture, we can respond appropriately.”