Bianchi bike sounded like it was "becoming cardboard" on the cobbles, says Paris-Roubaix pro who changed bikes four times due to "technical problem" and "carbon noises"

Florian Sénéchal was left with plenty of frustration at Paris-Roubaix, blaming "technical problems" with Arkea B&B Hotels' Bianchi bikes for his quadruple change.

Riders on the French team rode Bianchi's aero Oltre RC model or the lighter Specialissima RC at the cobbled classic on Sunday, however Sénéchal changed bike four times, reporting hearing "carbon noises", it "becoming cardboard", his handlebars coming loose, and fears that his fork or stem was "starting to give out".

"I think that we have a technical problem with our bike, and we'll have to look into it," he told French cycling website Cyclism Actu. "It wasn't going well with my bike. My fork or my stem was starting to give out. There were carbon noises and it was becoming cardboard. I got scared and stopped to change bikes. In any case, I couldn't go any faster because I couldn't pull on the handlebars. And I didn't want to fall on my collarbone.

"I had to change bikes four times. At the Carrefour de l'Arbre, the handlebars of my second bike came loose. I think that we have a technical problem with our bike and we'll have to look into it. It's annoying to always have problems. I didn't fall. The legs were there, the physical condition was there. I have nothing to prove myself and I have to be patient now. I didn't want to give up even though I hadn't had any luck yet.

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"I came back every time and I wanted to do well. I made no tactical or technical mistakes, and was always in the right place. That's just how it is."

road.cc contacted Bianchi for comment, although the Italian bike brand was not the only sponsor to suffer mechanicals or technical issues during the extremely punishing cobbled sectors. In the women's race, eventual winner Lotte Kopecky adjusted and tightened her handlebars while riding between sectors, taking an allen key from the SD Worx team car to complete the on-the-fly maintenance.

Sénéchal's complaints come a year after Bianchi stood by the safety of the integrated aero handlebar on its Oltre RC road bike used during last year's classics after Hugo Hofstetter broke two sets of bars during the Grand Prix de Denain.

At the time, Bianchi said, "The possible breakage of a carbon fibre handlebar is a predictable condition as a consequence of a strong impact generated by uncontrollable dynamics." In other words, due to crash impacts, the statement in full said:

As already communicated by Team Arkea-Samsic, the breaks suffered by the handlebar of the Bianchi Oltre RC used by the athlete were caused by two different falls in which the rider was unluckily involved, during two separate but proximate segments of the race. In both cases, the incident caused a severe impact on the component.

Like all Bianchi products, Oltre RC handlebars have successfully passed validation test protocols in accordance with International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 4210-5 regulations and are therefore safe to use by both our customers and professional athletes equipped with Bianchi.

The possible breakage of a carbon fibre handlebar is a predictable condition as a consequence of a strong impact generated by uncontrollable dynamics.

Bianchi holds the safety of its customers and professional athletes in the highest consideration. The company constantly invests in research and development, as well as in laboratory and on-road testing activities to guarantee the safe use of its products.