'Easyjet destroyed my bike': pro cyclist posts photo of bike snapped in half after flight

Aqua Blue Sport rider tweets photo of broken team bike

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It's every cyclists worst nightmare: opening a bike bag after a flight to find thousands of pounds worth of carbon snapped in pieces.

That was the experience of Aqua Blue Sport rider Peter Koning, who got home after competing in the Four Days of Dunkirk to find his Ridley Noah SL team bike in two pieces.

Understandably unhappy with the state of his bike, Koning tweeted a picture of the broken bike, saying that it had been "destroyed" by Easyjet, who were apparently now refusing to help him.

>>> What do different airlines charge to fly your bike around Europe?

Koning's next race is scheduled to be the Belgium Tour, which starts on May 24, which at least should be close enough for him to drive to from his native Netherlands.

After being contacted by Cycling Weekly, Easyjet issued the following statement:

"We were sorry about Mr Koning’s experience and have been trying to contact Mr Koning since 5 May to resolve this issue, but are yet to receive a response.

"We work closely with all of our airport partners to ensure our passengers’ bags are handled well and so are now investigating with our baggage handler what happened on this occasion."

>>> Read: Our buyer's guide to the best bike bags and boxes

This isn't the first time that cyclists have had problems while flying with Easyjet. In March a video emerged of baggage handlers dropping bike boxes off an Easyjet flight, although it is unclear if any bikes were damaged in that incident.

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Henry Robertshaw began his time at Cycling Weekly working with the tech team, writing reviews, buying guides and appearing in videos advising on how to dress for the seasons. He later moved over to the news team, where his work focused on the professional peloton as well as legislation and provision for cycling. He's since moved his career in a new direction, with a role at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.