Much was made of John Degenkolb's ongoing run of bad luck at Paris-Roubaix on Sunday, but it was Florian Sénéchal (Arkea B&B Hotels) who took the prize in a competition nobody wants to win.
He suffered a series of mechanicals on the 259km run from Compiegne to Roubaix, forcing him to undergo four separate bike changes.
Speaking after the race, the frustrated Frenchman took aim at his bike sponsor, Bianchi, saying "I think that we have a technical problem with our bike, and we'll have to look into it."
The 30-year-old, who has already missed half of the Spring Classics with the broken collarbone he sustained at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, started having problems at around 150km to go.
"It wasn't going well with my bike," the Frenchman told CyclismActu. "My fork or my stem was starting to give out. There were carbon noises and it was becoming cardboard. I got scared and stopped to change bikes. In any case, I couldn't go any faster because I couldn't pull on the handlebars. And I didn't want to fall on my collarbone."
But that was just the beginning of a tortuous day for the man who grew up just south of Roubaix. "I had to change bikes four times," he continued. "At the Carrefour de l'Arbre, the handlebars of my second bike came loose.
"I think that we have a technical problem with our bike and we'll have to look into it. It's annoying to always have problems."
The French team are sponsored by Bianchi bikes, and riders were aboard a mix of the Oltre RC aero bike and the lighter-weight Specialissima RC all-rounder. Sénéchal started the race on the Specialissima and was later seen aboard a different one at 100km to go, evidenced by the lack of race number and, to a lesser extent, his missing bike computer.
The Frenchman didn't explain what caused the third and fourth bike changes, whether they were further bike failures, punctures or something else. And it remains unclear which model he finished the race on. He did, however, go on to finish in 60th place.
"I didn't fall. The legs were there, the physical condition was there. I have nothing to prove myself and I have to be patient now. I didn't want to give up even though I hadn't had any luck yet. I came back every time and I wanted to do well. I made no tactical or technical mistakes, and was always in the right place. That's just how it is."
Cyclingnews has reached out to Bianchi for comment.
