Bikes of Team BikeExchange stolen at Tour de l’Ardèche
Bikes of Team BikeExchange stolen at Tour de l'Ardèche
Currently competing in France at the Tour Cycliste Féminin International de l’Ardèche, Team BikeExchange woke up on Sunday morning to find that 12 of its Bianchi team bikes had been stolen.
The peloton came to the rescue, with Trek Segafredo, Liv Racing, and Movistar all lending spare bikes to BikeExchange, an act of kindness that allowed the Australian team to start the fifth stage of the seven-stage race.
#TCFIA
— Team BikeExchange (@GreenEDGEteam) September 12, 2021
Every rider’s worst nightmare – stolen bikesThankfully the women’s peloton is full of great people & we would like to share our gratitude to the teams that rallied around to help us get our riders to the start line today after our bikes were stolen overnight.
Despite the misfortune, BikeExchange’s Ane Santesteban continues to hold second place in the general classification, nine seconds behind current race leader Leah Thomas (Movistar).
News of stolen team bikes in professional cycling is unfortunately far more common than it should be. In just two recent examples, the Trek-Segafredo women’s team suffered the same fate at last year’s Strade Bianche, and Équipe Paule Ka was forced to withdraw from the 2020 Giro dell’Emilia after its team bikes were stolen.
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