The rare Team Vitus bike that was stolen outside a cafe as two Irish An Post-Chainreaction riders stood a few feet away getting coffee.
One of the Irish riders on the An Post-Chainreaction team, Cork man Eoin McCarthy has had his team-issue bike stolen while on a coffee stop during a training ride.
McCarthy, an Irish U23 international in his first year with Sean Kelly's squad, was training with team mate Jack Wilson when the bike was stolen in Leuven, Belgium.
The riders were sitting outside a café beside their bikes.
When Wilson went inside to order a second coffee, McCarthy's bike was whipped away just feet away from him.
A local woman alerted him and he grabbed Wilson's bike and went after the thief.
However, in the warren of narrow streets in the town, McCarthy lost him and the bike was gone.
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The incident happened earlier today, Tuesday, and comes as the Fermoy man has been rebuilding his form after a couple of heavy crashes.
Perhaps the only silver lining was that the stolen bike was issued to McCarthy to train on, meaning he still has his racing bike.
McCarthy has just been coming back to fitness after a number of recent crashes saw him sidelined with injury.
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However, McCarthy said he was "sickened" because the bike was a matter of feet away from himself and Wilson when it was grabbed.
"It's a nightmare especially as it's a team bike and doesn't belong to me; that was even more of a kick in the teeth," he said.
He urged any cyclists or fans looking at sites where bikes are sold to keep an eye out for his machine.
He added: "I had to get a train in my kit, through the centre of Brussels with no bike. I looked like the biggest idiot ever."
The bike is a rare Vitus Vitesse Evo; the An Post Chainreaction Team edition. It had McCarthy’s Ultegra Stages Power Meter attached at the time
It is fitted with FSA K-Force stem, bars and crankset.
The shifters, derailleurs, cassette and chain are Ultegra, with Vision’s Metron 55 wheels and white prologo saddle.
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