Vittoria has released a statement regarding Thomas de Gendt's recent crash at the UAE Tour, and the subsequent controversy regarding hookless, tubeless rims in the WorldTour peloton.
Speaking exclusively to Cyclingnews, Team Lotto-Dstny claimed their equipment was completely within the rules, claiming, "We use, obliged by the UCI, 28mm tyres on a 23mm or 25mm inner rim. That is according to all prescriptions by the UCI, from Zipp, and from Vittoria, so for sure we are 100% in the rules."
However, the incident sparked controversy across the peloton and media, with CPA President Adam Hansen heavily criticising the role of hookless rims. "This crash is why the CPA are 100 per cent against hookless rims," he said in an interview with Velo. "Tires should not come off a rim."
The incident took place with a set of Zipp 353 NSW rims, alongside 28mm Vittoria Corsa Pro tyres, and commentators have suggested that the Zipp rim's internal width of 25mm was too wide to safely accommodate 28c tyres. Instead, the tyres should be at least 29mm in width.
De Gendt himself pointed to a collision on social media as the cause of the equipment failure, posting to Twitter.com ,"I would like to know what I hit with my front wheel."
Now Vittoria, the tyre manufacturer at the centre of the debate, has made an official statement.
"In the aftermath of Thomas De Gendt's crash during the UAE Tour last week, there has been some discussion about the hookless system," an official message stated. "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 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."
Supporting De Gendt's assessment of the incident, Vittoria distanced its tyre technology and compatibility from the equipment failure. "It's important to emphasize that the accident was not a result of any compatibility issues among the components utilized by the team. The Vittoria Corsa PRO 28mm TLR underwent extensive testing on various hookless commercial wheels, including Zipp models (such as 353NSW).
"The compatibility was thoroughly validated through laboratory tests, outdoor field tests, and races, with official communication provided through the Sram website. As members of ETRTO, we consistently develop our products in strict adherence to ETRTO norms, encompassing both current ETRTO standards and "Previous Standard Data (PSD)" ETRTO."
Wheel manufacturer Zipp, which has championed hookless rims in recent years, has also released an official statement.
"Zipp takes the performance and safety of its products very seriously," a Zipp spokesperson stated. "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. Once we have a clear picture, we can respond appropriately."
The use of hookless rims and specific tyre compatibility is likely to continue to be scrutinised, as is the use of safety foam within the tyre - which in this case is alleged to have increased danger. "When you look at the images of Thomas de Gendt’s bike, his tire came off, the safety foam inside got caught in the fork and that locks up the front wheel," Hansen added in his interview with Velo.
While we will expect further clarification from Zipp and Vittoria, it's likely that the equipment failure - whether caused by collision or not - will continue to focus scrutiny on the rapidly changing rim and tyre technology being used in the pro peloton.
