Vittoria has released a statement concerning Thomas De Gendt’s crash at the 2024 UAE Tour.
As a supplier to De Gendt’s Lotto Dstny team, the statement seeks to clarify details of the incident, which occurred on stage five of the UAE Tour.
Specifically, Vittoria claims the crash was “unrelated” to the fact De Gendt was using hookless rims and occurred as a result of De Gendt’s front wheel impacting a rock, which caused the rim to fail.
“The intensity of the impact caused the rim/wheel to break in a manner that prevented the tyre from staying securely in place,” Vittoria says, noting “The force was so severe that it tore apart the tyre insert.”
As a result of this failure, the tyre and the insert dismounted from De Gendt’s Zipp 353 NSW front wheel, causing him to lose control of the bike and crash.
Vittoria’s statement goes on to reaffirm its Corsa Pro TLR tyre (the model De Gendt was using) has undergone “extensive testing” on various hookless wheels, including the Zipp 353 NSW, and that this incident was not due to any “compatibility issues” between the wheels and tyres De Gendt was using.
Vittoria says its development for the Corsa Pro TLR involved testing on hookless rims both in a laboratory environment and in the real world, and that its tyres and other products are developed with “strict adherence to ETRTO norms, encompassing both current ETRTO standards and ‘Previous Standard Data (PSD)’ ETRTO.”
Vittoria’s statement in full
In the aftermath of Thomas De Gendt's crash during the UAE Tour last week, there has been some discussion about the hookless system. 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 tyre from staying securely in place. The force was so severe that it tore apart the tyre insert.
It's important to emphasise that the accident was not a result of any compatibility issues among the components utilised 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.
