Australian cycling’s governing body AusCycling has been forced to remove handlebars from its track bikes being used at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games due to them being unsafe for use.
Key points:
- AusCycling released a statement at the same time that competition started at the Commonwealth Games
- AusCycling came under fire at the Tokyo Olympics when a handlebar set failed during a race
- Matt Glaetzer, Matthew Richardson and Thomas Cornish were all named to compete
In a statement, AusCycling said the pursuit bars set to be used in Monday’s 1,000m time trial “cannot be used safely” and that drop bars would be used instead.
The statement read that the drop bars would be “marginally slower” but would “tolerate the loads generated during competition”.
“We acknowledge that this decision has created a degree of disappointment,” Jesse Korf, AusCycling’s performance manager said.
“But the riders and the broader team understand that safety is our top priority.”
Drop bars are the same configuration that the riders use in the power-based sprint events and are positioned at either side and slightly below the handlebars.
Riders are not in as aerodynamic a position as they would be if they were using pursuit bars.
Pursuit bars are positioned centrally and allow a rider to sit with their arms out in front of them, as is the case in the endurance events on the track.
AusCycling came under fire at the delayed 2020 Olympics in Tokyo when Alex Porter’s handlebars spectacularly failed in qualifying for the team pursuit.
Porter was riding at 65 kilometres per hour when his handlebar suffered a catastrophic failure, he then suffered painful facial injuries after crashing face-first into the track.
An AusCycling report issued after the Tokyo Games found inadequate governance was in part to blame for the failure, with the custom-made pursuit handlebars not adequately tested prior to their use.
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