Cadex has released an official statement concerning Amaury Capiot's catastrophic rear wheel failure, which occurred during the men's edition of Omloop Het Nieuwsblad on Saturday.
Pictures surfaced of the Team Jayco AlUla rider standing at the side of the road during the race holding his Giant Propel bike; the bike's rear wheel rim appeared to be broken, with the spokes completely detached from the hub, whilst the tyre had also come off the rim, exposing the tubeless sealant and internal liner that had been fitted.
Post-race, Cyclingnews reached out to Capiot's Team Jayco AlUla team for comment, and the team explained that the failure was the result of riding for too long on the race's cobblestones with a flat tyre after puncturing, which ultimately caused the wheel to fail. Capiot was thankfully unhurt in the incident and went on to finish in 96th place.
Cadex, Jayco's wheel sponsor, has issued a statement post-incident providing clarification on the reasons behind the wheel's failure during the race.
The brand's statement aligned with the explanation provided by Capiot's team post-race. It explained that the rider hit a hole in the road whilst riding at around 47/48kph and continued to ride over the race's cobblestones on a damaged tyre. The statement explains that the initial and subsequent repeated impacts from the cobblestones eventually caused the Cadex Ultra 50 wheel to break.
"The tyre separation in this incident was not caused by hookless rim design," reads the statement, which goes on to say that structural failure of the rim led to the failure.
"Our assessment of the wheel, in coordination with Team Jayco AlUla, confirmed that the prolonged riding on the cobblestones with a flat tyre caused the rim to crack. This structural rim failure led to spokes displacing from the hub and the subsequent collapse of the wheel—it was this structural breakdown that caused the tyre to come off the rim."
Capiot was racing on the Cadex Ultra 50 wheels and Aero Cotton tyres, which form the Ultra50 wheel system. Cadex explained it was fully behind hookless rim technology in the statement, and mentioned that even when the rim "yielded to extreme forces" it remained "stable enough to prevent a crash".
"Cadex remains fully committed to our hookless rim technology and the proven performance and safety benefits, including stronger, more durable rim walls, lower overall weight, and a more precise and reliable rim/tyre interface," continued the statement.
"Each WheelSystem is engineered with precisely calibrated tolerances and tested to the most rigorous standards to ensure reliable tyre retention and performance."
The brand concluded the statement by recommending that, in the event of a puncture, riders stop riding immediately and inspect the wheel for damage before continuing to ride.
