'Certainly an organised gang' - Cofidis boss speaks out following mass theft of team's bikes at the Tour de France

Up to €143,000 worth of Look team bikes were stolen from the Cofidis team workshop truck in the early hours of Sunday morning before stage 2 of the Tour de France.

The theft of the 11 custom-painted Tour-edition Look 795 Blade RS bikes, which are valued at around €10,000-13,000 according to the team, left the French squad racing on spare bikes for stage 2, which was won by Mathieu van der Poel

The Look bikes, aside from the custom paint job which was created specifically for the Tour de France, are the only machines at the race equipped with Campagnolo Bora Ultra wheels and the latest Super Record WR 13 electronic, wireless groupset from the Italian manufacturer.

Look CEO Federico Musi explained in a statement yesterday that the company had opened their factory to allow replacements of the bikes to be prepared. Ensuring the team's riders would be back racing on custom-painted machines as soon as possible.

It seems the problem created by the theft has been solved quickly, thanks to the unusual situation of having the team service course, its sponsor's bike factory, and the race itself all based in France.

In news first shared by Cyclism'Actu, Cédric Vasseur, the team's general manager, also spoke about the theft and his belief that an organised gang must be responsible. No trace was left of the burglary, which also targeted journalists in the same hotel, and the team has filed a complaint with the police.

"When we woke up, unfortunately, we realised that the workshop truck had been broken into this morning. When we took inventory, we realised that 11 bikes had been stolen during the night. Probably after 4:30 a.m. However, there was a security guard who was apparently ensuring security in this parking lot.

"Unfortunately, we have no traces at the moment. Journalists in the same hotel were also victims of burglaries, so it was certainly an organised gang that had been operating for several days. Luckily for us, we only have 11 bikes in our truck, because we have one racing bike and two spares."

The team's service course, based in nearby Bondues on the outskirts of Lille, is a stroke of luck for the French team, allowing mechanics and staff to turn around fresh machines quickly and continue the world's biggest race on the right bikes.

"We are also close to the race service, so we went there to get spare bikes to allow the riders to compete in the stage this Sunday and to benefit from a spare bike just in case.

"We're going to have to reassemble new bikes in the next few days, because they were special Tour de France series. Our mechanics will be busy starting Monday morning to reassemble 4 or 5 new bikes. And then we're going to be extra vigilant, and I also advise all the teams to do the same thing."

Vasseur also gave insight as to the value of what the thieves took, which works out at between €110,000 and €143,000, not including what was taken from journalists.

"The overall damage? Well, each bike is between €10,000 and €13,000, multiplied by 11... that's a lot of money.

"We filed a complaint at the police station this morning, an investigation is underway, and the police are obviously doing their utmost to hopefully recover the equipment."

The Tour de France is the biggest race in cycling, and a Cyclingnews subscription offers you unlimited access to our unrivalled coverage. Get all the breaking news and analysis from our team on the ground in France, plus the latest pro tech, live race reports, and a daily subscriber-only newsletter with exclusive insight into the action. Find out more.