Bicycle theft at the Vuelta: 250,000 euros lost for Visma

This isn't the first time this has happened, but this time the theft from a professional cycling team during a Grand Tour has been costly: before the start of the third stage of the Vuelta a España, thieves stole a small fortune in bicycles from the Dutch cycling team Visma-Lease a Bike.

On the night of Sunday to Monday, thieves burglarised a truck belonging to the Dutch cycling team, which includes Jonas Vingegaard (competing in the Vuelta) and Wout van Aert (absent from the Vuelta). The truck was parked in the parking lot of the hotel where the team was staying in Turin, Italy, where this year's Vuelta a España began.

The thieves stole 18 Cervélo bikes, worth a total of €250,000. Thanks to the help of mechanics from the Movistar and Lidl-Trek cycling teams, who were staying at the same hotel, the Visma riders were still able to start the third stage with adapted bikes.

Cycling teams have already been victims of bike theft on several occasions. During last year's Tour de France, the French team TotalEnergies was the victim of bicycle thieves, and this year, Cofidis was hit. According to Cofidis director Cédric Vasseur, these were "specialised bicycle thieves."

(MH with MaSi avec GF - Photo : © DPA picture alliance / Action Plus | Pierre Teyssot)