Track cycling: the Italian team victim of bike theft on the sidelines of the world championships in Roubaix

End of Worlds disrupted in Roubaix for part of the Italian track cycling team.

Runners who had participated in the events this week, had their bikes stolen in the night from Friday to Saturday, told AFP the Departmental Directorate of Public Security (DDSP) of the North and the organizers.

“They neglected the recommendation to leave the bikes, until the start, in the velodrome,” explained Yannick Gomez, deputy director of the DDSP.

According to him, the vehicle where the bicycles were located remained parked "unattended for many hours" in front of their hotel in Marcq-en-Barœul (North).

“More than 10,000 euros” for each bike

“Beyond the financial cost, it is also a technical and sentimental loss”, explained this source, because it is “most of the time custom bikes, with particular settings”.

Information confirmed by Pinarello, manufacturer and sponsor of the team, on his Instagram account.

"All bikes are painted with unique colors and most of them with custom 3D printed handlebars which are very important to athletes", details the brand, urging their subscribers to report any suspicion of resale of one. of these bikes.

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At the beginning of the afternoon, the number of stolen bikes and the amount of the overall damage had not yet been established, but each bike would cost “more than 10,000 euros” each.

Track bikes but also road bikes would be affected by these thefts, including some of the phenomenon of the Ineos-Grenadiers team, Filippo Ganna, world time trial champion a few weeks ago and the pursuit by teams in Roubaix this Thursday.