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 model for a sequence of in-race bike failures.
Speaking to CyclismActu, Sénéchal complained of “a technical drawback with our bike,” earlier than explaining that his fork or stem was “beginning to give out,” and that “there have been carbon noises and it was changing into cardboard.”
The annoyed Frenchman stated the workforce would “should look into” the issue, and that they “at all times have issues.”
In the wake of his feedback, Bianchi issued an announcement expressing “shock and concern”, however in the end repudiated his criticism, as a substitute turning the eye onto the Arkea B&B Hotels mechanics, claiming that “the particular directions offered by Bianchi for assembling the handlebars of bikes had been disregarded in some instances, inflicting disparities within the dealing with of the bicycles in competitors.”
In the assertion from Sénéchal and the workforce, it appears Arkea B&B Hotels have accepted duty for the fault, because it echoed Bianchi’s assertion by saying “directions offered by Bianchi concerning the meeting of the handlebars had been ignored.”
Despite this, Bianchi was eager to keep away from a blame sport. Speaking solely with Cyclingnews, a spokesperson defined that Bianchi has “large respect for the class of the mechanics, and we do not wish to blame them.”
The model was additionally eager to affirm its partnership with the workforce by saying “Bianchi reiterates its assist for Team Arkea B&B Hotels with renewed positivity, wanting ahead to the upcoming essential occasions of the season with the purpose of taking extra victories and consolidating the highest ten place within the UCI WorldTour rankings.”
Similarly, the workforce has issued an analogous vote of confidence, saying “The Arkea B&B Hotels Team, its General Manager Emmanuel Hubert, in addition to all of the riders from the three constructions want to reaffirm their whole confidence within the Bianchi model bikes, which have already enabled them to win and already this season seven races: 5 on the street for males, one for girls, the French Cyclo-cross Championship and just lately ending 2nd within the Tour of Flanders with Luca Mozzato.”