The damning independent report from Toni Cumpston and John Baker, commissioned by AusCycling soon after the incident and released today, has identified a number of shortfalls with the design process of the handlebars and their specification process from AusCycling, laying the blame at their door rather than with equipment manufacturer Bastion Cycles.
The Australian Cycling Team was behind the world in terms of equipment, a fact known within the organisation leading into the Games. "If we were on the same equipment, we'd win every race" was a quote from a member of senior management within the Australian Cycling Team to this reporter in the lead-up to the Olympics.
The 3D-printed base bar was originally ordered put in as an order for manufacture late in 2019, with the flat bar thought to offer an advantageous starting position for the team pursuit squad. With the shortened period until the 2020 Olympics, there was a reduced testing procedure from what is normal for design and manufacture of the new handlebar set up, down from the normal 200,000 cycles down to 50,000.
The original specification of the part required by Auscycling from Bastion was not up to scratch either, with forces exerted upon the part by riders exceeding the required strength by approximately 1.5 times the force outlined in the design specification sent to Bastion.
The Tokyo Olympics were delayed due to COVID-19, allowing another year of preparation in which time testing could have been redone to adequate levels, but that did not happen. The process is described scathingly in the report.
“When a requirement, which was out of the ordinary, arose, this requirement was first delayed, poorly specified, then hastily effected and in use, extant check and balance systems were ignored. At the time of Specification, the 2020 Olympics was seven months away, but COVID-19 delayed the Olympics until mid-2021 and with the original production and shortened testing time frame met, adequate time for in-use training became available. The 150,000 cycles of missed testing were never reinstated.”
There were further opportunities to check on whether any physical signs of degradation of the part were noticed upon the fitting, removal and transit of the parts. These were requirements of AusCycling team policy, but weren’t adhered to with this piece of equipment.
All of these contributed to the final failure in front of a worldwide audience on the velodrome in Tokyo, with the Australian men’s team, considered one of the top chances for a gold medal, effectively losing that opportunity.
The conclusions of the report were damning on the Australian Cycling Team and AusCycling, with the clear need for a change in the policies at the organisational level recognised by Fechner as they look to the next Olympic cycle, culminating in Paris 2024.
“Reading the final report was uncomfortable and confronting,” said Fechner. “We apologise to Alex, to the other riders, to the broader Australian Olympic team and to 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 we will use this opportunity to ensure that these problems are never repeated.
“From my perspective what needs to happen is clear now, first of all, we will enact all of the 14 recommendations of the report. There were a further five recommendations for Bastion and we’re available to help them and ensure it all operates at the required level. Secondly, we’ll incorporate the findings particularly pertaining to culture and process in the ongoing work of the high-performance committee led by Michael (Smith).”
The announcement of the results of the investigation comes a week after the appointment of Jesse Korf to the role of Executive General Manager of Performance, the former AusCycling director of Performance Pathways named by Fechner as the person to lead the management and cultural change to ensure this sort of thing doesn’t happen again.
“The appointment of our new EGM will lead the change and there is already a review of the high-performance committee that the high-performance committee is undertaking,” said Fechner. “That has seen us recruit a highly qualified man in Jesse Korf, who will bring a breadth of knowledge and experience in making us successful in the next Olympic cycle and beyond. Cultural change isn’t a process that doesn’t just happen overnight.
“The way we make decisions needs to be universally understood in what risks we are willing to take and that we have a culture of ‘check and challenge’ and very open communication that allows us to make the best difference with our partners and outcomes. The report is very clear that there needs to be a complete overhaul in the way we do our business, and that will involve all of our people, partners and athletes moving forward.”
Bastion issued a statement after the release of the report stating, “Bastion has committed to enacting all of the recommendations as soon as possible and to continue to work closely with AusCycling following the release of the report”.
Alex Porter, who was riding the bike that failed, said the release of the report was an important step in clarifying what had happened.
"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. "I also appreciate AusCycling’s transparency and acknowledge their apology to all of us who rode in the Team Pursuit.
"While I’m glad that we now have greater clarity around what happened, I’m still absorbing the details of the report and will not be making any further comment.’’
From a position of playing from behind in the technological race for gold in Tokyo, there were shortcuts taken in the design and testing processes, with any possible chance of avoiding disaster also missed in the handling the equipment and maintenance checks. It makes for very poor reading for AusCycling, with the main positive from the review being that they are clearly disposed to learn from the report and implement its findings given the transparency in which they have dealt with the report's release.
