The Italian team at the World Track Championships has been targetted in a robbery. An organised burglary gang stolen more than 20 bikes from the team at their hotel in Lille.
Some of the bikes stolen were valued at €30,000, with components that included €10,000 handlebars.
It is a major blow for the team which had been enjoying a brilliant run at the Worlds, taking gold medals in the men's team pursuit and women's elimination and scratch races, among other medals.
The stolen bikes were taken in a robbery last night, with reports in Italy suggesting between 20 and 30 track bikes and road bikes were taken, including Pinarellos with 3D-printed handlebars.
The haul included the gold Pinarellos of the men's team pursuit line-up that won gold at the Olympic Games. World TT champion Filippo Ganna's bike was among them.
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The bikes had been loaded onto a van and were packed away ready to be brought back to Italy today when the thieves struck last night and made off with the kit valued at many hundreds of thousands of Euros.
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"They were well organised," said head of the Italian delegation, Roberto Amadio, in an interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport, adding the team knew of the risks of being targeted in a robbery and had taken precautions.
"We chose to stay in a hotel with a private, monitored car park even if the commute each day was a bit more demanding," he said of selecting a hotel based on safety specifically to avoid being robbed.
Pinarello said it was shocked by the theft and urged anyone who saw the bikes being offered for sale to contact the company.
"All bikes are painted with unique colors and most of them with custom 3D printed handlebars which are very important for the athletes," it added.
"We please ask our community of followers and fans to report to [email protected] if you see any of these bikes being sold online or around."
