All of Team Europcar's bikes at the EuroMétropole Tour were stolen overnight. It was only the latest in a series of bike thefts this year. It was not known whether the team would start in today's second stage.
Thieves took 18 bikes from the French Continental Team, Het Laatste Nieuws reported. They are said to be worth 10,000 euros a piece. The bikes were in a team truck in the parking lot of their hotel in Mont-Saint-Aubert.
Thieves struck twice at the World Championships, taking the bikes of Russia and Denmark. In August, the bikes of Team Baku were stolen. The season started out with Garmin-Sharp's bikes being stolen at the Tour Méditerranéen in February. RadioShack-Leopard was the victim a month later, losing eight bikes at Three Days of West Flanders.