'We are 100% within the rules' - Lotto-Dstny defend tyre system despite De Gendt blowout

Thomas de Gendt bike.

While Opening Weekend may take the attention of the cycling world away from the UAE Tour, there is a link between the desert racing and the Spring Classics, and from a tech point of view it always comes back to tyres.

On stage 5 of the UAE Tour, Lotto Dstny’s Thomas De Gendt blew his tyre out, seemingly out of nowhere, especially given the reliably smooth nature of the roads used in the UAE Tour. 

Thomas De Gendt's rim and tyre combination is a possible cause for the blowout on stage 5 of the UAE tour, but the mechanics maintain the setup is compliant with both the UCI and with manufacturer tolerances (Image credit: Getty Images)

Credit where it's due, the wonderfully nerdy Ronan McLaughlin of Escape Collective penned an article outlining why he thinks the incident occurred, namely a combination of a rim that is too wide to safely accommodate a 28c tyre, given the rims hookless construction. The Zipp 353NSW wheels that De Gendt was using feature an internal width of 25mm, which according to the ISO standards is recommended only for tyres of 29mm and above.

While the riders at opening weekend were tending to use the narrower internal 454NSW wheels, and wider 30mm Vittoria Corsa Pro tyres, it was still a talking point with the team mechanics, who remained bullish about their strategy and setup.

Theoretically a tyre inert can help keep a tubeless tyre on a hookless rim in the event of an instant puncture, but clearly no system is totally reliable (Image credit: Getty Images)

Firstly, we asked if inserts would still be used:

“We've done it from day one, with a former brand also; we always use inserts. I certainly believe you get a loss of 1.0 or 1.1 Watts, but we do it for the security of the riders. If you have a hookless rim and a tubeless tyre and you get an instant flat it goes off like nothing. Imagine if a rider takes a descent and the tyre goes off… they could be dead.”

While images of De Gendt’s bike following his crash show the tyre totally off the rim, inserts out on show too, the mechanics remain committed to the insert strategy, and also maintain that the teams setup is fully UCI compliant, even when faced with suggestions that the tyre was too narrow for the rims:

“We use, obliged by the UCI, 28mm tyres on a 23mm or 25mm inner rim. That is according to all prescriptions by the UCI, from Zipp, and from Vittoria, so for sure we are 100% in the rules.”

We have approached both Zipp and Vittoria for clarification, but for now the mechanics are putting it down to a freak accident, and are continuing their equipment strategies unabated.