'Chains are not supposed to fail' - Pro cycling team blames SRAM for bike issues

A pro cycling team boss has blamed the SRAM chains used by his team for apparent bike issues at last weekend's European Cyclo-cross Championships in Pontevedra, Spain.

Baloise Trek Lions' Sven Nys saw his son, Thibau, ride to victory in the elite men’s race, but he felt they couldn’t take further opportunities due to two broken chains.

Speaking to Het Laatste Nieuws, Nys said that American firm SRAM had provided the chains which the team had issues with.

"We are riding with a new derailleur group from SRAM this season, which we have already had problems with during training," Nys said. "They addressed those problems, delivered new chains and then the problem was gone, but apparently not. We need to investigate that, chains are not supposed to fail when a rider puts a lot of force on the pedals."

Cycling Weekly contacted SRAM in relation to the issues highlighted by Nys but a spokesperson for the company declined to comment. SRAM introduced new Red AXS and Red XPLR AXS groupsets this year.

Baloise Trek Lions' Arthur van den Boer suffered a broken chain in the junior men’s race which Nys suggested resulted in him finishing in 21st. David Haverdings had the same problem in the men’s under-23 race.

Nys said he spoke with his son before the elite men’s race to ensure he was fully aware of the potential issues with the chains supplied by SRAM.

He told the press that he had said to his son: "Don't use too much force when pulling up. You might break your chain."

Thibau was unable to avoid dropping his chain, although the mechanical issue ultimately didn’t hamper his ride which saw him take the European title.

Thibau Nys said: "With two laps to go, I changed gear and my chain fell between the spokes and the cassette. I thought for a moment that it was over, but it is a matter of staying calm."

Nys went into the European Championships off the back of a successful year on the road for Lidl-Trek which saw him take a stage win at the Tour de Suisse in June. Nys also won a stage of the Tour de Romandie and took three victories at the Tour de Pologne among nine victories this year.