Canyon issues ‘stop ride’ notice after Mathieu van der Poel’s handlebar incident

A piece of Alpecin-Fenix rider Mathieu van der Poel’s Canyon-Made handlebar broke during the race

Mathieu van der Poel crosses the line with damaged handlebars (Getty)

Bike manufacturer Canyon has issued a ‘stop ride’ notice following an incident at Le Samyn, the cobbled classic in Belgium.

A piece of Alpecin-Fenix rider Mathieu van der Poel’s Canyon-made handlebar broke during the race, forcing the talented Dutchman to play a supporting role for one of his teammates, Tim Merlier, who won the race. 

The problem affects some of the current Aeroad CF SLX and CFR models.

In a statement, the German brand said: “Experts from the Canyon development and quality management departments immediately began analysis and testing to understand the cause of this incident. The affected cockpits (CP0018 and CP0015) only installed on the current Aeroad models CF SLX and CFR. The Aeroad CF SL model is not in any way affected by this issue.”

Canyon founder Roman Anrold said: “Mathieu fortunately did not fall. We want to ensure with absolute certainty that no one comes to harm before we fully understand the root cause.”

CEO Armin Landgraf added: “We are doing everything we can to equip affected Aeroad models as quickly as possible with a cockpit that meets both our and our customers’ demands for total quality and safety.”