HANDLEBARS CRACKED OR SNAPPED

From Back Page the speed of their Formula One counterparts when Laura Kenny broke a bike as she was preparing to contest one of her events in the omnium. On other occasions, coaches and mechanics chose not to tell riders a bike had broken, changing it for a new one before they had realised. As well as problems with the frames, which rendered the bikes unsafe as well as less effective, the state-of-the-art handlebars often cracked or even snapped. Some riders chose not to use the Cervelo bikes at all in Rio. Philip Hindes, the fastest front man in the history of the team sprint, opted for the UKSI bike he had ridden to glory four years earlier in London. Elinor Barker opted for a UKSI bike in the team pursuit because of the style in which she rides, with knees fractionally closer together. British Cycling designers are now working with Cervelo to develop a more robust Mk II machine but the team will head to Hong Kong next week with the UKSI bikes that were unveiled in 2004 and updated over the next two Olympic cycles. Some of the bikes being ridden in the World Championships, which begin on April 12, will nevertheless date back to 2004. Developed at the UK Sports Institute in 2002 by Greek former track sprinter and aerodynamic engineering wizard Dimitris Katsanis, the UKSI bike remains a superb machine, one that has helped the British team dominate Olympic cycling on the track and in the time trial. But there is no denying the Cervelo machines were quick. The challenge now facing the design team, led by former F1 engineer Tony Purnell, is to make the Mk II more durable.