Pro cycling team hit out at SRAM "problems", claim chains "fail" when riders "put a lot of force on the pedals"

Belgian pro cyclocross team Baloise-Trek Lions have raised concerns with their SRAM groupsets after a frustrating weekend at the European Championships saw numerous mechanical issues involving snapped and dropped chains.

Despite the "problems" Thibau Nys still won the elite men's race at the event in Pontevedra in Spain, however he was under strict instructions from his father Sven, cyclocross legend and the team's manager, to avoid "using too much force when pulling up" as two other riders had seen their chances derailed by snapped chains earlier in the day.

 

 

 

 

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Baloise-Trek Lions' website states the team rides the Trek Boone equipped with SRAM Red AXS, the components brand's latest top-of-the-range electronic groupset that was released at the start of the summer. The components manufacturer also released a performance gravel groupset this year too. 

However, speaking to Het Laatste Nieuws, Sven pointed to the team "already having problems during training" since they started "riding with a new derailleur group from SRAM" at the start of this season.

"They fixed those problems, delivered new chains and then the problem was gone, but apparently not," he said. "We need to investigate that: chains are not supposed to fail when a rider puts a lot of force on the pedals.

"I shouted at Thibau during every lap that he had to be careful: 'Don't use too much force when pulling up. You might break your chain'."

As feared, the eventual winner did suffer some mechanical misfortune on route to his victory, Thibau reporting that with two laps to go he changed gear "and my chain fell between the spokes and the cassette".

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"I thought for a moment that it was over, but it is a matter of staying calm," he added.

Just hours earlier, Arthur van den Boer snapped a chain in the men's junior race and David Haverdings suffered the same fate in the U23 event. SRAM has not commented.

Baloise-Trek Lions' website states the team is using SRAM Red AXS this season, the new groupset which was launched earlier in the year as "the lightest electronic groupset ever" and came with promises of lighter braking, improved front shifting, and more control courtesy of a 'Bonus Button' on the side of each shift-brake lever hood.