There are few things more chilling than the experience of returning to where you left a bike, only for it to no longer be there. So for the employees of Shimano’s Experience Centre in the Dutch city of Valkenburg, last Friday was a especially troubling day: the facility had been raided overnight by bike thieves, with six iconic bicycles from cycling’s recent history stolen.
A post on Shimano Europe’s LinkedIn page says that the “irreplaceable” bikes were discovered missing on Friday morning, with the locks securing them forced open overnight. “The stolen bikes are beyond any monetary value, having played their part in cycling history, at the Tour de France, at the World Championships, at the Olympics, and at countless other vital events in the cycling world,” Shimano’s post reads. “We are relieved that no one was hurt – the theft occurred at night with no staff on site.”
The bikes stolen include:
- a one-off world champion’s-edition Canyon Aeroad belonging to Mathieu van der Poel, as ridden to the podium of Liège-Bastogne-Liège this year
- Julian Alaphilippe’s Specialized S-Works Tarmac, as ridden during his 14-day stint in the yellow jersey at the 2019 Tour de France
- Peter Sagan’s Specialized S-Works Venge from the 2020 Tour de France, with unique green details to commemorate his record-breaking run in the sprinter’s classification
- Egan Bernal’s Pinarello Dogma F12 X-Light from the 2021 Vuelta a España, complete with yellow and pink stripes referencing his wins at the Giro d’Italia and Tour de France
- Matej Mohorič’s Merida Reacto, ridden to his emotional stage win at the 2023 Tour de France, and
- Fabio Jakobsen’s Scott Foil, ridden at this year’s Tour de France.
The bikes were loaned by the teams to the Shimano Experience Centre for display to the public, with 160,000 visitors each year passing through the doors, getting hands-on with Shimano products, using product simulators, and learning about Shimano’s history. For the enterprising bike thief, the public nature of the bicycles’ display also meant that, perhaps, there was scope to get to terms with the security arrangements of the facility and plan a wish-list.
The distinctive nature of the bikes – especially Van der Poel’s Canyon Aeroad – means that they are presumably not the easiest items to off-load, and Dutch police investigations are ongoing. Shimano encourages anyone with information about the theft, or that has been approached to purchase one of the bikes, to contact the authorities.
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