An investigation initiated by the Australian Cycling Team into the handlebar failure that caused Australian Team Pursuit representative Alex Porter to fall at the Tokyo Olympics indicates that the failure was more than a fixture.

Among its 13 findings, the report concluded that the Australian Cycling Team provided inaccurate specifications for the design and manufacture of replacement Pursuit base bars, reduced fatigue strength test cycles without justification, while policies and procedures were poor and those that existed were not followed concluded that.

"Reading the final report was uncomfortable and at times really confronting," Aust Cycling CEO Marne Fechner said at a virtual media conference on Thursday. [We apologize to Alex [Porter] and his fellow athletes, the broader Australian Olympic team, and the Australian public. We acknowledge that many people inside and outside our system experienced anger and frustration as a result of this incident, and we will use this opportunity to ensure that the failure is never repeated."

Porter was the rider who fell during the Olympic team pursuit qualifier when the Bastion Cycles CA-06 base bar on his Argo 18 bike appeared to break at the mounting.

"I acknowledge the work that went into this report and the many people who contributed to a better understanding of what happened in Tokyo," Porter said in a statement from AusCycling. I also acknowledge their apology to all of us who participated in Team Pursuit."

The team of Porter, Sam Welsford, Lee Howard, Kelland O'Brien, and Luke Plapp qualified fifth in the restart, losing the opportunity to compete for gold and silver medals. They did, however, win the bronze medal. Rohan Dennis won bronze in the road time trial, while Logan Martin won gold in his freestyle BMX debut.

Australia did not go home empty-handed, but at the 2016 Rio Olympics, Australian cycling finished with disappointing silver and bronze medals, far from the dramatic turnaround that was the goal when Simon Jones was appointed performance director Jones was not the only one to be disappointed with the results of the Olympics. Jones stepped down after the Tokyo Games, having announced his intention to take up another job outside of Australian Cycling before the Olympics were held.

Jesse Korff was appointed Executive General Manager (Performance) last week: Jesse Korff was appointed Executive General Manager (Performance) last week and will play a key role in "evolving the culture, structure and processes of the Australian Cycling team He will play a key role in "evolving the culture, structure and processes of the Australian Cycling Team.

"There is work to be done, but our commitment is to ensure we strengthen what makes us great and improve what needs to change," Fechner said.

The report's author, mechanical and aeronautical engineer John Baker, made 14 recommendations for Aust Cycling to implement, including processes, policies, and quality control.

"Facing the results of the report puts us in an uncomfortable position, but it is a great opportunity to see exactly where we are. [and we expect that refreshing our high performance program will take many cycles.