One week after their bikes were stolen by thieves ahead of a two races in Spain, cycling team Unibet Rose Rockets have revealed they have been able to trace and retrieve some of their bikes, thanks to a GPS tracker.
The Dutch squad’s Rose bikes, we reported last week, were stolen during a stopover in Poitiers whilst the team were en route to a series of races in Spain. A van, housing most of the team’s bikes, was broken into when the thieves smashed through the van window before forcibly prizing open its back door, stealing “a number” of bicycles, the team said on social media.
“Bike theft is, unfortunately, something that happens far too often in cycling. It sucks, it’s frustrating, and it’s certainly not how we planned to start our race week,” the team said in a statement. Despite the thefts, the team managed to line up at both the Ordiziako Klasika and Vuelta a Castilla y León.
Belgian newspaper Het Nieuwsblad are reporting that the team has been able to return the bikes with the assistance of French police. They also say a man has been arrested in relation to the thefts.
The recovery of the bikes reflects the increasing awareness teams have of their bikes being stolen, with Visma-Lease a bike also recovering some of their stolen bikes during the Vuelta a Espana’s stages in Italy last year. Other teams were less fortunate however, with both TotalEnergies and Cofidis having their bikes stolen last year, the latter during the Tour de France.
The spate of thefts over the past year has led race organisers, such as the Tour of Britain, to confirm they’re on high alert and willing to support both teams and the police where applicable. Lidl-Trek general manager Luca Guercilana even confirmed his team had taken to hiring security guards the team’s bikes and vehicles overnight during training camps in Spain.
> Tour of Britain on high alert after two major bike theft raids target pro cycling teams this week
The Unibet Rose Rockets originated from a YouTube channel run by former Dutch cyclist Bas Tietema. The team moved to the ProTour, cycling’s second tier, last year and received an invite to race this year’s Giro d’Italia. Among their star riders are former Tour de France stage winners Dylan Groenewegen and Wout Poels.
