Arkea B&B Hotels and Florian Sénéchal have issued a joint apology to their bike sponsor, Bianchi, following the rider's post-Paris-Roubaix outburst blaming the brand for a series of in-race bike failures.
Speaking to CyclismActu, Sénéchal complained of "a technical problem with our bike," before explaining that his fork or stem was "starting to give out," and that "there were carbon noises and it was becoming cardboard."
The frustrated Frenchman said the team would "have to look into" the problem, and that they "always have problems."
In the wake of his comments, Bianchi issued a statement expressing "surprise and concern", but ultimately repudiated his criticism, instead turning the attention onto the Arkea B&B Hotels mechanics, claiming that "the specific instructions provided by Bianchi for assembling the handlebars of bikes were disregarded in some cases, causing disparities in the handling of the bicycles in competition."
In the statement from Sénéchal and the team, it seems Arkea B&B Hotels have accepted responsibility for the fault, as it echoed Bianchi's statement by saying "instructions provided by Bianchi regarding the assembly of the handlebars were ignored."
Despite this, Bianchi was keen to avoid a blame game. Speaking exclusively with Cyclingnews, a spokesperson explained that Bianchi has "big respect for the category of the mechanics, and we don't want to blame them."
The brand was also keen to affirm its partnership with the team by saying "Bianchi reiterates its support for Team Arkea B&B Hotels with renewed positivity, looking forward to the upcoming important events of the season with the aim of taking more victories and consolidating the top ten position in the UCI WorldTour rankings."
Similarly, the team has issued a similar vote of confidence, saying "The Arkea B&B Hotels Team, its General Manager Emmanuel Hubert, as well as all the riders from the three structures would like to reaffirm their total confidence in the Bianchi brand bikes, which have already enabled them to win and already this season seven races: five on the road for men, one for women, the French Cyclo-cross Championship and recently finishing 2nd in the Tour of Flanders with Luca Mozzato."
