The investigation, initiated by AusCycling, into a handlebar failure that sent Australian Team Pursuit squad member Alex Porter crashing to the boards at the Tokyo Olympic Games, indicates that it was far more than a piece of equipment that failed.
The report concluded, among its 13 findings, that the Australian Cycling team provided inaccurate specification for the design and manufacture of a replacement pursuit base bar, reduced fatigue strength testing cycles without justification, while policies and procedures were scant and those in existence were not followed.
“Reading the final report was uncomfortable and at times really confronting” AusCycling CEO Marne Fechner said in a virtual media conference on Thursday.
"We apologise to Alex [Porter] and his fellow riders, to the broader Australian Olympic team and the Australian public, all of whom are entitled to expect better. We acknowledge the anger and frustration that many in and around our system have experienced as a result of the incident, and will use this opportunity to ensure that failures are never repeated.”
Porter was the rider that came down when the Bastion Cycles CA-06 Base Bar, on an Argo 18 bike, appeared to snap off at its attachment point during the Team Pursuit qualifying at the Olympic Games.
"I acknowledge the work that has gone into the report and the many people who have contributed to a better understanding of what happened in Tokyo,’’ Porter said in a statement from AusCycling. "I also appreciate AusCycling’s transparency and acknowledge their apology to all of us who rode in the Team Pursuit.”
The team of Porter, Sam Welsford, Leigh Howard, Kelland O'Brien and Luke Plapp qualified fifth in a restart, losing the opportunity to compete for gold and silver. They did fight back to take a bronze medal. It was the only medal from Australia on the track in Tokyo, with Rohan Dennis also securing bronze on the road in the time trial and Logan Martin delivering gold in the debut of Freestyle BMX as an event.
While the nation didn’t walk away empty-handed it was far from the dramatic turn around that had been targeted when Simon Jones was appointed as Performance Director after what was considered a disappointing medal tally from Australian cycling at the Rio Olympics in 2016, with just a silver and bronze on the track. Jones left after Tokyo, having announced his intention to take another role outside AusCycling before the Olympics unfolded.
Jesse Korf was last week appointed to the role of Executive General Manager: Performance, with responsibility for AusCycling’s elite programs across all cycling and riding disciplines with what the organisation described as a critical role "in evolving the Australian Cycling Team’s culture, structure, and processes".
"We have work to do, but our commitment is to ensure that we strengthen those things that make us great and remedy those things that must change,” said Fechner.
The report author, Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineer John Baker, made 14 recommendations for AusCycling to implement which included processes, policies and quality control.
“It has put us in some uncomfortable positions facing into the findings of the report, that said, it's a great opportunity for us to know exactly where we are and that's the rationale behind the broader high performance review, particularly as we as an organisation start to look beyond just one Olympic cycle,” said Fechner.
“Our horizon, our strategy will take a much longer view of that, and we anticipate that the refresh of our high performance programme will take many cycles and hopefully we're continuing to raise the bar, not stay the same.”
