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news
Shimano Neutral Service 2Shimano responds to pro rider who lashed out at its neutral service, claiming she was denied assistance at World Championships road race
A pro cyclist who was forced to abandon the women’s elite road race at the UCI World Championships in Glasgow on Sunday 13th August has lashed out at Shimano after claiming that she was denied neutral service assistance after puncturing. Through a PR company, Shimano has now responded claiming that the staff in charge of its neutral service car in question "strictly adhered to the race convoy rules."
Christine Majerus, who was representing Luxembourg in the race, hit out at the company in a post to Instagram, in which she urged her followers, “Don’t buy Shimano.”
The 36 year old, who has won 14 national road titles and 17 in the time trial, said in her post on the social network: “If I knew I would have stayed home. Terrible carbon footprint for only 10kms of racing. 2023 just keeps on being a terrible season with injuries, sickness and bad luck. Yesterday was just one of those days (again).”
She wrote that while in normal circumstances, getting a puncture at the start of a race wouldn’t be a major problem, the nature of yesterday’s race meant that for her, the “race was done before it even started.”
Majerus said that one problem was a “(too) huge peloton” – 203 riders lined up at the start in Loch Lomond – with another being the complications in terms of support vehicles due to it being an event contested by national teams rather than trade teams.
More than 70 countries were represented, with three riders from Luxembourg taking part, and its support vehicle was shared with a trio of riders from Ukraine – one of whom had crashed shortly beforehand, meaning the car was not available to provide help to Majerus when she needed it.
Her main ire, however, was reserved for the Shimano neutral service car, and she claimed that its staff had ignored her request for a wheel change.
The Japan-based components company has provided neutral service in the sport since 2001 at a number of major races including, since 2021, the Tour de France after taking over duties at that race from Mavic, and its blue cars are a distinctive sight in the peloton.
> What the hell is neutral service at the Tour de France?
Besides wheel and bike changes when team cars are not available for whatever reason, its mechanics also provide food and drink to riders when needed.
But in much the same way that you only see insurance covered in the press when a policyholder goes to the media to complain that a claim has been refused, neutral service only seems to attract the headlines when something goes wrong.
One high profile example involving Shimano include Cadel Evans, who was leading the 2009 Vuelta when a painfully slow neutral service wheel change saw him lose time to the eventual winner, Alejandro Valverde.
More recently, in last month’s Tour de France, the Bora-Hansgrohe rider Nils Politt was caught on camera showing his frustration when, after his chain snapped while he was in the break, he tried out three separate bikes offered to him by the neutral service mechanic none of which was suitable due to a combination of the frame sizes being too small for him and the pedal system being incompatible with his shoes. Eventually, he had to wait for his team car to arrive – by which time the main peloton, never mind the break, was way up the road ahead of him.
In her Instagram post regarding her travails yesterday, Majerus wrote: “I usually don’t complain openly when things don’t go the way they could and anyway who knows how things could have turned out and that’s absolutely not my point.
“Mostly I just give my best and I get what I deserve for that. I can live with failing as long as I was able to try. Yesterday just felt extremely unfair because I couldn’t even try.
“I am aware that not everyone can have car number 1 and that no other nation was willing to give me service (thanks Switzerland at least they considered it but then … no) but I always thought that that’s what the ugly blue cars are there for.
“But apparently they are just there for advertising and adding another 5+ cars to the already too long convoy. Why are you there if you don’t help?
“Once I got a bike change I knew it was over,” Majerus continued. “The helicopters were miles away, I was out of the convoy and only coming back to dropped riders. I rode until the jury took us out and that’s it.”
She added a string of apologies including to her team mates and staff members, her coach, and even her niece – “president of my little fan club who now needs to refund its members (only 2 so not too bad)” – before concluding her post with the words, “Don’t buy Shimano.”
Yesterday’s race was won by Belgium’s Lotte Kopecky, who when not representing her country rides for the same SD Worx team as Majerus, who was a member of its line-up at last month’s Tour de France Femmes Avec Zwift last month, won by their team-mate Demi Vollering, second yesterday – and which is supplied by SRAM, which at least means that her heartfelt post won’t lead to any awkward conversations with equipment sponsors.
> Belgium’s Lotte Kopecky caps phenomenal season by winning World Championship road race
road.cc contacted Shimano Europe for comment, and while not responding directly, a PR company sent a statement to us on the behalf of a Shimano spokesperson in response to Majerus' criticisms.
The spokesperson said: “Shimano prides itself on quality and professional services during all levels of competition. As such, Shimano wishes to clarify that the neutral service car in question strictly adhered to the race convoy rules.
"The explicit request of the President of UCI’s Commisaires’ Panel that it should remain in position behind the Jury President’s car at all times was followed, should it be required for the race finale.”
Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.
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46 comments
sram changed their 12 speed cassette/chain/chainrings to a sram patented system to stop others selling sram compatible 12 speed aftermarket parts, so sram can make all the money. Shimano stayed with the tried and tested chain/cassette/chainring "standards" - save me replying to everyone who says you can fit a shimano 12speed cassette on a Sram 12 speed system
I regularly switch between Shimano and SRAM cassettes with my flat top chained bikes without issue and run a Shimano chain on my 1x12 TT bike with a SRAM 10-36 cassette for training and an 11-32 for racing with great shifting.
So I must not buy Shimano because she was denied service? And she throws the carbon footprint card when she loses, like it is very meaningful the other times she flies to cycle in colorful lycra?
I don't care about races, racing etc. If there was a groupset Shitano Durex Ace that its riders finished last in the last kids race while its team drivers were lasering the others riders eyes, but it was Sora quality in Sora prices before inflation, I would be perfectly happy to go for it.
Most people don't care about the racing circus, they just want to go efficiently to their work.
Do Shimano neutral service carry wheels with cassettes compatible with a SRAM Red AXS 12-speed flat-top chain as a rule ?
because I suspect they dont, unless theyve sourced some from aliexpress.
If they can't cope with all the different kit the riders might be using then they're not neutral service, they're just shimano advertising like she says!
Yes but I'm sure if you presented them with a bike that had a Sturmey Archer hub setup, they'd struggle to offer you a replacement.
Neutral service only works when there is cross compatibility of componets across manufacturers.
It wasn't an issue in the men's race because the men's peloton is dominated by Shimano, in the women's its more like 50/50 split and with all the top ranked teams on SRAM.
Clearly in that case they'd just give you a bike because what's the point of spending however long plumbing in a new hub gear at the side of the road. Notwithstanding though, yes, if a top level professional team was running {insert random niche drivetrain here} then Shimano neutral service would carry compatible wheels for it.
They really all work well together now. Different story when Campy was 10sp. But from 11 and to 12 now, it's solid. Soon someone will be first to 2x13sp though(probably Campy)and that may mean they'll need to carry 2-3 rear wheels with Campy cassettes
I think Campag won't introduce 2x13 any time soon, they had an opportunity with the new WRL group and chose not to go that way. One issue is the current 142mm hub width used on road. The 13sp Ekar cassette fits on 142mm hubs but the largest Ekar sprocket sits further inboard than with a 10/11/12 sp cassette. That only works because the largest Ekar sprocket is very big, 36t and up. Smaller sprockets would be too close to the wheel spokes.
So you think Sram would be any different 1 rider out of 100 complain not that bad
Does the flat top actually touch the cassette? No so why would it matter.
Also, from my admittedly N = 1 sample, Shimano 12 speed cassettes work fine with SRAM chains (I actually found the shifting on my force to be better with the Shimano cassette than the SRAM one).
The whole "my chain won't work with their cassette" is a load of bollocks - as long as the ring spacings are the same (p.s. there aren't too many ways you can squeeze 12 cogs onto the same sized freewheel) then the chains work fine!
Aiui the only thing that works with SRAM axs & the flat top chain, which is the default equip for SD worx bikes, is something specifically designed to handle SRAM axs, because the sizing isn't quite the same.
The Sram flat top chain has a slightly larger roller diameter so it would not normally fit fully into the hollows between the teeth of a Shimano cassette.If you had a slightly worn Shimano cassette then it might work better but its not something I would want to try.
It actually works great, been doing it for about 15k miles without issue
Brand spanking new shimano cassette works fine - and as I said, shifting was better than with the Force cassette the bike came with. All this not-compatible is just marketing bollocks from whatever brand to flog you their "proprietary" tech.
Even if it's not perfect compatability, accept the wheel & get back in the race. Change to desired wheel if/when opportunity arises.
Sh#t happens; don't whinge.
Yes. Yes they do. Quite obviously, I would have thought. They are contracted to be neutral service for the race, not to be neutral service for Shimano teams only. They absolutely, positively do carry spares for everything the stakeholders have deemed necessary for neutral service to carry. That's why they also carry full bikes with Look and Speedplay pedals fitted, not just SPD-SL.
From this very website interviewing Shimano neutral at the Tour. "Shimano’s mechanics carry up to nine pairs of wheels, with two pairs for use with rim brakes, four pairs for use with Shimano’s disc brakes, including 140mm and 160mm rotors, as well two to three sets made for use with other manufacturers’ drivetrains," says Shimano."
I prefer to believe in occams razor, the simplest explanation is the most likely, it seems the simplest & most likely explanation to me they just didnt have a compatible wheel for her to use with her bike setup, hence her complaining about what use were they, not why didnt they pay any attention to help her, not why didnt they stop.
but feel free to believe whatever you like.
You believe the simplest explanation is that a company contracted to provide neutral service at a major race does not carry any spares for other companies' drivetrains, and would somehow be unable to purchase them even if they wanted to without resorting to knockoffs from AliExpress?
Ok sure, that sounds likely.
I read that as a tongue-in-cheek dig at the general availability of SRAM parts.
You'd like to think that was obvious...but I guess not
No I haven't said that, theyll carry compatible spares that work across sram/shimano setups, thats a given, but the setup on her bike required something thats specific to sram, that sram says only works with sram spares no matter how many people claim its compatible, how do they have the space to carry enough spares for all the compatible setups & the non compatible setups too? They have to decide up front how many wheels of each type theyve got.
So maybe all the sram specific wheels in the car that passed her had already been used helping Ukraine riders out, maybe the sram specific wheels were all in the cars up front where all the main sram riders were and couldn't divert back to help, which might tie in with Shimanos odd statement, maybe they just forgot and assumed proper team car assistance would always be there as the smaller nations who shared cars would be unlikely to ride on such tech given its high end expense and limited availability.
Then I have bad news for you - someone has clearly hacked your account!
"Do Shimano neutral service carry wheels with cassettes compatible with a SRAM Red AXS 12-speed flat-top chain as a rule ?
because I suspect they dont, unless theyve sourced some from aliexpress."
If you've now changed your mind to say "maybe Shimano neutral service had already run out of Sram wheels" then I'm not going to disagree. But your original point was very clearly "obviously Shimano service doesn't carry anything compatible with Sram" which I do disagree with because it's completely wrong, which it sounds like you now understand.
"suspect" - has an idea or impression of the existence, presence, or truth of (something) without certain proof.
RAM Red AXS 12-speed flat-top chain - a very specific cassette and drivetrain made by SRAM, that SRAM themselves claim is only compatible with SRAM Red AXS 12-speed flat-top chain components.
but as I said earlier, and you dont have to quote me on that Ill save you the trouble and repeat, but feel free to believe whatever you like.
Which, regardless of your unfounded and uninformed suspicions, Shimano neutral service do carry. A) because of course they do, B) because they say they do and C) you've already accepted that they do so why are you still trying to argue the point that they don't?
I regularly swap between Shimano and SRAM cassettes with my flat top chained bikes without issue
Why can't the "Neutral" service be truly neutral?
Surely the UCI, ASO, RCS etc can afford to provide truly neutral service vehicles?
Shimano literally pays them to be neutral support just as Mavic did. Hard times lead to Mavic pulling out
"Don't buy Shimano"... says pro rider, who probably doesn't buy any of their own kit...
#cynical
I know weight is at a premium, but in a race where you must know it's going to be hard to get service (even if they don't allegedly ignore you) wouldn't it be worth strapping a combined inflator/sealant like Vittoria Pitstop under the saddle? An extra 200g vs risking being ruled out of the race for a flat...
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