Mass overnight theft of Visma-Lease a Bike bikes at Vuelta a España, police launch investigation

A large number of bikes have been stolen from Visma-Lease a Bike's Vuelta a España squad overnight after thieves broke into team vehicles in their hotel near Turin.

According to Italian media outlets, up to 18 bikes were robbed, with Tuttobicisport going so far as to claim that the squad would perhaps have to borrow spare parts or bikes in order for their riders to participate in stage 3. The Italian specialist site also estimated the value of the stolen bikes at 250,000 euros

Visma-Lease a Bike confirmed the robbery via social media, saying that police had launched an investigation. However, the team did not specify the exact number of bikes, their value, or how, or indeed if, the missing bikes would affect the riders on stage 3.

Luckily for the team, stage 3 is just 134 kilometres long, running from San Maurizio Canavese to Ceres relatively close to where most teams are based in Turin, so the early afternoon start and nearby location should give the squad at least some time to provide alternatives for the missing bikes.

The mass theft comes hard on the heels of Visma leader Jonas Vingegaard's spectacular victory and claiming of the red jersey in Limone Piemonte on stage 2.

Later on Monday morning, Visma also confirmed that their French sprinter Axel Zingle will have to leave the race after his struggles with a dislocated shoulder following the mass pile-up in the closing kilometres on stage 2 that also affected Vingegaard and multiple other riders.

Zingle managed to complete the stage, albeit dead last and 24:05 down on Vingegaard, but his team said that subsequent checkups on Monday showed that the 26-year-old could not continue.

The team released a statement on X, saying: "Unfortunately, after yesterday’s crash, our medical team had to decide that Axel Zingle is not fit enough to continue the Vuelta a España. His first Grand Tour with the team comes to an early end."

Other riders badly affected by the fall included Guillaume Martin (Groupama-FDJ), who abandoned during the stage with two broken vertebrae, and Spain's Jorge Arcas (Movistar) - like Zingle a DNS for stage 3 as a result of his own injuries from the same mass fall.

After crashing, Zingle initially climbed into a race ambulance to get his dislocated shoulder put back in position, but he then dislocated it for a second time when he was reaching for a gel. His bike, which Visma said was inaccurately reported as 'disappeared' after he gave it to a spectator during the wait, in fact ended up in the race's broom wagon.

The fate of the bikes which were robbed overnight remains much more unclear, although later there were unconfirmed reports in the Spanish newspaper AS on Monday that at least some of the stolen bikes had already been recovered.