The Vuelta a España 2025 will not only be remembered for its sporting achievements, but also for a serious incident off the course. On the night of 25 August, 18 high-quality Cervélo racing bikes were stolen from the team truck of the Visma | Lease a Bike team. The Italian police confirmed that the thieves used a pickaxe to force their way into the vehicle. The total value of the stolen bikes is estimated at around 250,000 euros. Some of the stolen bikes were later found in nearby bushes, according to Richard Plugge, team leader of Visma | Lease a Bike. It is unclear why the thieves left some of the loot behind. However, most of the bikes remain missing, as the Dutch news portal NOS reported.
The incident triggered a wave of solidarity among the teams. Lidl - Trek and Movistar immediately offered their help to ensure that Visma | Lease a Bike was ready for the third stage. "We saw the massive damage caused by the thieves and immediately offered to help," Luca Guercilena, team manager of Lidl - Trek, told IDLProCycling.com. "Whether it was bikes, components, helmets or mechanics - everything that was needed to be ready for the third stage." Guercilena also helped with the translation for the police to speed up the process. It wasn't the only incident in recent days. During the Tour Poitou - Charentes en Nouvelle Aquitaine, the Per Team TotalEnergies 20 bicycles stolen.
Lidl Trek team leader expresses suspicion of organised crime
For the team leaders, one thing is clear: the increasing number of thefts is organised crime. "We're dealing with organised crime here, it's not just people snooping around," emphasised Guercilena. The Lidl Trek manager believes the teams have reached a point where they need to hire professional security guards for the night watches. "With so many teams now staying in the same hotels, the damage can be enormous, especially as the equipment becomes more and more valuable."
I think we're getting to a point where we're going to have to hire security guards at night - Luca Guercilena
The positioning of the vehicles also plays a decisive role. Guercilena explained that Visma-Lease a Bike had bad luck with the parking situation at the hotel: "We could block the back doors of our trucks with a car, but that was not possible where the Visma truck was parked. I'm sure they would have done the same if the order had allowed it. Maybe it would have turned out differently."
Patrick Lefevere speaks out
Patrick Lefevere, former boss of the Soudal Quick-Step team, shares this view and expressed his opinion in his weekly column for Het Nieuwsblad "There is no doubt about it: this is organised crime, with thefts to order." Lefevere referred to the recent incidents at TotalEnergies and Visma | Lease a Bike and emphasised the considerable value of the stolen equipment. "Richard Plugge mentioned a value of 250,000 euros, and that's probably no exaggeration. A fully assembled bike belonging to a professional cyclist can be valued at around €14,000 these days," explained Lefevere.
Should mechanics spend the night in the lorries?
The idea that mechanics could spend the night in the trucks is viewed critically by the teams. Christian Knees, Sports Director at INEOS Grenadiers, warned: "You could have mechanics sleeping in the trucks, but there are serious risks involved. At the moment it's just about stolen wheels, but you never know what could happen if someone is inside." Instead, some teams are already relying on security services and the best possible security for the vehicles.
Richard Plugge criticised the fact that investment in security measures has declined in recent years. "When I was with the AIGCP (Association of Professional Cycling Teams), we always asked the Grand Tour organisers for security, special security around the hotels. But apparently that is no longer the case," he said. Although the hotel had hired its own security staff, Plugge appealed to all teams: "Be very careful, because apparently the organisers are not organising this themselves. So now we have to do something ourselves."
Lefevere described in detail the meticulous security measures his team takes to minimise the risk of theft: "We park the truck with the bikes close to a wall so that the tailgate can't be lowered. Or we park another vehicle in front of it for the same reason. If the tailgate is opened at night, an alarm immediately sounds in the mechanics' room." These measures have now become essential, as the thieves know exactly what they are looking for and have channels to sell the stolen bikes - "often in the former Eastern Bloc", as Lefevere noted.
Increase in bicycle thefts in professional cycling
The incident at the Vuelta is one in a disturbing series of thefts that have plagued professional cycling in recent years. At the 2025 Tour de France, Cofidis lost eleven Look 795 Blade RS wheels worth around 125,000 euros, including the specially designed wheel for Benjamin Thomas' mountain jersey. Also TotalEnergies already lamented the loss of eleven bikes at the Tour de France 2024 during the race, including the stage-winning bike of Anthony Turgis.
Team Lifeplus Wahoo was hit particularly hard at the Tour of Britain 2024 when all 14 bikes were stolen in Wrexham. Co-founder Bob Varney described the incident as "an absolute blow to our team, which was already working on a tight budget". It was only through the support of other teams that Lifeplus Wahoo was able to continue racing.
Lefevere also recalled an earlier theft that his team Quick-Step experienced during a race in Tuscany. Surveillance footage at the time revealed the professionalism of the operation: "A gang drove their van through a vineyard to the hotel fence, cut the wire and broke into our van. It was incredible how quickly ours was empty and theirs full." In response to such incidents, the Service Course (team headquarters; editor's note) of Soudal Quick-Step has been secured like "Fort Knox", according to Lefevere: "Everything is secured with bars, even the skylights on the roof. If anyone would even think about doing something like that - don't even start."
Other recent incidents include the attempted theft of Merida bikes from Bahrain - Victorious on the eve of Milan-San Remo, the theft of 22 bikes from the Italian national track cycling team at the 2021 World Championships in Roubaix, the loss of £30,000 worth of equipment from Saint Piran in the Netherlands and thefts from Euskaltel-Euskadi and Baloise Trek Lions.
