Barloworld bikes stolen in Italy

Team Barloworld awoke to an unwelcome surprise on Thursday when thieves broke into a store room at their training camp hotel in Italy and stole 21 of the team bikes. The riders were in the midst of a camp in Castagneto Carducci (Livorno), Tuscany.

The theft was discovered by the hotel management when they noticed that the lock of the store room where the 32 Bianchi team bikes were kept had been forced open. Italian police in Donoratico were immediately contacted and investigations have begun to locate the thieves and recover the stolen bikes.

Most of the Team Barloworld riders have now been left without a bike to train on, however Team Manager Claudio Corti has already contacted bike sponsor Bianchi, who is trying to arrange new bikes to be sent to the team so that the riders can continue to train for the new season.