Israel Cycling Academy suffers theft of 17 bikes in latest high-profile robbery
Israel Premier Tech's development team sees stack of top Factor bikes stolen from team vehicle in Girona, Spain.
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Israel Cycling Academy suffered the theft of 17 of its Factor bikes.
The team, which acts as a development squad for the Israel-Premier Tech crew of Chris Froome, Michael Woods, and Jakob Fuglsang, confirmed Monday that a stack of its race machines had been stolen from a team vehicle in Girona.
The Israel Conti and WorldTour teams had both been clustered in northern Spain as they set the wheels in motion on the 2022 season.
“Today, 17 of our Israel Cycling Academy Factor Bikes were stolen from the team’s truck near Girona, Spain. The frames are silver, red, and black,” read a message from the team Monday. “Please contact us if anyone has any information.”
The theft is the latest in the recent rise in robberies of top-end bikes.
The Italian track team saw 20 of its bikes stolen from a vehicle in Lille during the 2021 worlds, with some of the Pinarellos valued at as much as €30,000 each. The bikes were eventually found in Romania during a drug bust.
Former Tour de France champ Geraint Thomas was the victim of the theft of his bike while he took a coffee stop on a training ride in the French Riviera last November only for authorities to trace and return it within three hours.
If you see 17 top-end Factors going cheap on eBay in the next few weeks, you know who to contact.
Today, 17 of our Israel Cycling Academy @FactorBikes were stolen from the team’s truck near Girona, Spain. The frames are silver, red, and black as pictured below.
Please contact us if anyone has any information 🙏 pic.twitter.com/yKqkVg5jft
— Israel – Premier Tech / Israel Cycling Academy (@IsraelPremTech) January 17, 2022