Sorry to hear about the damage.
Boulder is close enough to me that I drove up, but I've flown with my bikes (variously road and TT) to a number of different races. I also have an EVOC bike bag, which was recommended to me.
On all of the flights (domestic and entering/exiting the US) TSA have opened my bag and inspected it. I'm fine with that. The problem is that TSA also undo at least some of the straps and move some of the packaging. I usually use a little extra bubble wrap. Fortunately I've had no problems - even after TSA have effectively left the bike "loose" inside the case. That's with both carbon frame and alu frame/carbon fork. The wheels I usually travel with are pre-Firecrest 404s, but the carbon fairing hasn't ever sustained any damage.
I've seen my bike bag come on through the regular luggage carousel (that surprised me). I've seen it under other luggage on the car while being unloaded from the plane. In my experience the EVOC bag is very protective, even when the bike is improperly packed (say, after TSA look at it), and even being handled with less care than the airline should take.
Keep on at United. I'm not a fan of theirs at the best of times, but please give them hell over this. Perhaps the claims folks at your insurance company can send you something to confirm why the buck is being passed to United. That'll give you something concrete to talk to them about.
I'm not connected with EVOC, but I think their bag has proven itself to give awesome protection and damaging the bike through it shows utter negligence on the part of United's baggage handlers. The damage you list also seems like more than just the case being crushed under something. Perhaps a hard-case is the way to go now (for your peace of mind), but avoiding United seems to be warranted too.
Like one of the posters above, I'm confused about the fact that Colorado Multisport didn't notice any damage. I had a tiny bit of work done there before last year's race and the mechanics were good. As I was in there shopping after the race I saw Mirinda Carfrae come in and chat to the mechanic. Did you contact Colorado Multisport about the damage? It really doesn't sound like you should have to just suck up the cost of the damage here.
Final word to anyone with renters insurance rather than homeowners... your renters insurance will more than likely NOT cover your bike. So it's worth thinking about separate bike insurance.
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