$12,000 ITALIAN TRACK CYCLING TEAM BIKES STOLEN AT WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS

Italian riders at the world track cycling championship in Roubaix, France, lost bikes worth around $12,000 each to thieves, local authorities told AFP. Authorities said the bikes disappeared late on Friday or early on Saturday, but did not say how many had been stolen.

“The Team forgot the recommendation to leave the bikes in the velodrome until the end of the championships,” Yannick Gomez, director of the departmental board for public safety, told AFP.

Gomez added a team vehicle was parked outside the team hotel for “many hours” without surveillance as the bikes were stolen. Heading into the last two days of the championships, the Italians topped the medal table with three golds and seven total medals. The competition organizers told reporters all the racers who lost bikes had already finished their participation. They also said the thieves took road bikes as well as track bikes, including some belonging to Ineos rider Filippo Ganna.

RBA/AFP Photos: Bettini