The Heras golden bike (Image credit: Liberty Seguros)
The charity auction for Roberto Heras' golden BH Global Concept bicycle, which he rode to victory in Madrid during the final stage of the Vuelta a España, has already topped the €20,000 mark. Heras opened the auction last Friday on eBay, putting a starting bid of €10,000 on the bike. His team manager Manolo Saiz joined in the bidding later on with an impressive €18,000 bid, but since then it has climbed to €20,700 with over six days remaining in the auction. All proceeds will go to the victims of Hurricane Katrina.
At a press conference at eBay's Madrid HQ, Heras said that he was "very proud to be able to collaborate in this charitable act for people who are in need." Heras also admitted that he would have liked to keep the bike and that it makes him sad "to say goodbye to it, because it has a great sentimental value for me, but I do this with happiness for our cause."
Saiz added that the bicycle has "a very great sentimental value, besides which we are not going to make any more bicycles like this one, which is already a collector's item with some parts coated in pure gold. Besides, it is a bicycle for top competition, with a weight between 6,850 and 6,900 grams, which Roberto used to do the last stage of the Vuelta 2005.
"I remember that when we sold the bicycle of the Centenary Tour, a multimillionaire, who could at least ride a bike, bought two. When we asked him why he was buying two, he explained that one was for his winter house and the other was for his summer house. I'm going to bid for it because I would like it to remain in Würth's Bicycle Museum, although I also would be glad if it goes to someone else because it would mean that we have reached the aim of collaborating with a good cause."
