Argon 18 confirmed that when Australian rider Alex Porter hit the ground in the Team Pursuit qualifier for the Tokyo Olympics with what appeared to be a broken handlebar, it was not the company's handlebar on his bike.

The incident caused Porter to slip on his board, ending Australia's first qualifying run in just over a minute; in the second qualifying run, he finished fifth in 3:48.448, making it difficult for him to even be in contention for the bronze medal. Martin Fobert, vice president of Argon 18, said in a statement, "Like many of you, we were shocked to see an Australian athlete fall in the men's team pursuit. We are relieved that no one was seriously injured and applaud the team for getting back on course quickly to complete the race." An equipment review by the Australian cycling team is currently underway and more details will be released shortly, but at this time we can confirm that it was not the Argon 18 handlebar that caused the malfunction.

The Australian track team uses the Canadian brand 2020 Electron Pro, which incorporates an aero cockpit in the Team Pursuit. Cycling Australia (now AusCycling) unveiled the bike last February as a collaboration between Argon 18 and Zipp. A partnership with Bastion, a company that specializes in 3D printing of titanium, was also previously announced for the manufacture of the cockpit.

"Argon 18 designed the handlebars for the bike and provided them to the team, but it was not our bars that were used during the accident. Unfortunately, we are unable to elaborate further on the manufacturer of these bars or why this particular bar was replaced during the race."

Porter, 25, was at the back of the field and other riders, including Kelland O'Brien, Sam Welsford, and Lee Howard, escaped the crash. The Australian team was expected to be a serious medal contender after setting a world record and winning gold in the team pursuit at the 2018 Commonwealth Games. Australia also won the Team Pursuit at the 2019 World Championships, and has taken silver medals at the Rio and London Olympics behind Great Britain. In Monday's Olympic team pursuit qualifying round, Denmark posted the fastest time of 3:45.014, with Italy in second place at 3:45.895. New Zealand was third in 3:46.079 and Great Britain was fourth in 3:47.507. The men's team pursuit heats will continue on Tuesday, followed by the medal final on Wednesday.