"Almost like the plane ran over it!": UCI Worlds Gran Fondo rider's Cervélo wrecked in flight transit, but Air Canada denies any responsibility

A Canadian rider, who participated in the UCI Gran Fondo World Championships in Scotland last month, has revealed that her brand new 2023 Cervélo Soloist, 2020 Cervélo P-Series and her time-trial helmet were severely damaged with several chips, cracks and dents, when flying back with Air Canada, however the airlines has denied any responsibility for the damages.

Diane Bomans from Saskatoon was reveling being a part of the biggest cycling event in history in Scotland, representing Canada in the Gran Fondo, finishing 22nd in the road race and a commendable 9th in time-trial championships.

However, her "fantastic" two-week trip to Scotland "ended in a nightmare" on her way back home. "I arrived home without early Wednesday morning without either of my two bikes. They arrived later in the day and when I picked them up, both bags showed damage," she said.

Her 2020 Cervélo P-Series time trial bike had at least three cracks in the frame with paint chips all over the bike bag. Her 2023 Cervélo Soloist also had damages to the frame as well as her brand new TT helmet, which had dents on both sides.

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"The force required to generate this type of damage had to be extreme. I take extra care packing my bikes including wrapping every piece of the frame in foam," said Bomans, adding that Air Canada then asked her to wait for 15 days for a response.

When she took the bikes to her local bike shop to get them assessed, they were shocked as well. One of the employees of the bike shop said: "It’s almost like the plane ran over it, that was my first opinion.

"As though it got run over by the plane, that’s kind of the level of impact. You might rarely see a minor scuff or maybe a slightly bent derailleur, but this is the most severe damage I’ve seen."

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After waiting for two weeks, Air Canada responded to Bomans claim, "unfortunately" declining it and denied any responsibility.

They wrote: "The airline's liability for loss, damage or delay of checked baggage is limited. The carrier may refuse claims based on the inherent nature of an item or for loss or delay of unsuitably or inadequately packed items (e.g, perishable/fragile item)."

Air Canada also responded to a request by CTV News, saying that bikes "must be placed with handlebars fixed sideways and pedals removed in a rigid and/or hard shell container."

Bomans was shocked after reading this, saying that nobody had ever told her before that it has to be hard case. "Pretty much everybody I know travels with a soft case and the soft cases are great," she said.

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While damages for Bomans bike were eventually covered by Saskatchewan Government Insurance, this is not the first time Air Canada is finding itself in the middle of a bike transit scandal.

The airlines lost three bikes belonging to a Tour de France rider from Israel-Premier Tech as he flew from Canada to Copenhagen for last year's Grand Départ amidst the global airline baggage crisis.

Guillaume Boivin, who got a late call up from his team to ride the Tour arrived in the Danish capital on time, but he was down three bikes, besides his other personal effects. As a result he had to ride the opening individual time trial on a bike borrowed from a team-mate, finishing in 129th place.

The 33-year-old, a top-10 finisher at Paris-Roubaix in 2021, resigned himself to only being reunited with his own bikes following the Tour, but even a month later, Air Canada was still unable to find his bikes and other possessions.

He said: "I have nothing and they don’t know. It's been almost a month and there are limits. It’s annoying not having your stuff. I wanted to give them a chance, but I find it pretty ordinary.

"My patience has its limits. I'm going home after the Tour and it’s not settled. It is not a free service with volunteers.

"For anyone, a plane ticket is not cheap. I would have expected better. This is my situation, but I find it deplorable for everyone who is experiencing the same problem this summer."

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road.cc has contacted Air Canada for a comment on Bomans' bikes, but is still awaiting a response.

Bomans, meanwhile, said that she understands accidents happen, but she’s frustrated that the airline isn’t taking any responsibility. She said: "I understand these things happen, I absolutely get that people make mistakes and accidents happen.

"But people need to take responsibility for it. It’s okay to say ‘We ruined your bike,' but let us make it right."