'Probably a one-time failure' - Thomas De Gendt revisits UAE tyre blowout

Thomas De Gendt
Thomas De Gendt (Image credit: Getty Images)

Thomas De Gendt has played down the significance of his spectacular tyre blowout in the UAE Tour, where the Belgian’s mishap and subsequent crash sparked a wealth of speculation over the potential risks of a hookless rim system for tyres.

Lotto-Dstny had already insisted that they were “100% within the rules” and that their wheel setup was entirely UCI-compliant. Manufacturer Zipp also issued a statement saying that the impact with an object was to blame, rather than the rim and tyre combination.

Alasdair Fotheringham

Alasdair Fotheringham has been reporting on cycling since 1991. He has covered every Tour de France since 1992 bar one, as well as numerous other bike races of all shapes and sizes, ranging from the Olympic Games in 2008 to the now sadly defunct Subida a Urkiola hill climb in Spain. As well as working for Cyclingnews, he has also written for The IndependentThe GuardianProCycling, The Express and Reuters.