Baloise Trek Lions celebrated Tibaunis' victory at the UEC European Cyclocross Championship this weekend, but say they could have won more medals if the 2 chains hadn't broken.

Team Manager Sven Nys told Het Laatste Nieuws that the problem was in a chain supplied by American component manufacturer SRAM.

"We started the day badly with a lot of material issues," Nys said, pointing to the broken chain suffered by Arthur Van Den Boer in the junior men's race, which left him in 21st place, rather than fighting for a bronze medal. David Haverdings had a similar problem in the u-23, finishing in 10th place.

"We've been riding with SRAM's new derailleur group this season, but we've already had problems during training," Nys explained. "They dealt with these problems, offered a new chain, and the problem was gone, but obviously it wasn't. We need to investigate it: it is not supposed that the chain will fail when the rider puts a lot of force on the pedal."

Nys was able to warn his son Tybau about the issue before the Elite Men's race, saying, "I have a post of material that he had to be careful " Don't put too much effort when pulling up. You may break your chains.

Instead, Tibaunis dropped the chain, but avoided snapping it, he said. 

"With two laps to go, I changed gears and my chain fell between the spokes and the cassette. I thought for a moment that it was over, but it's a matter of staying calm.

The Nys were able to thwart Spain's Felipe Oates and claim his first elite European title in Pontevedra on Sunday.

Cyclingnews reached out to SRAM about the issue, but the brand declined to comment at this stage.