Track sprinter Lewis Oliva has had his unique carbon-fibre cycling shoes stolen by a thief who broke into a car on Tuesday in Cardiff.
Fellow track cyclist Ciara Horne tweeted that the shoes had been taken from her car after it had been broken into while she was visiting University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff.
The shoes were in a bag removed by the thief.
Just had our car broken into outside Cardiff Heath hospital and @Lewis_Oliva British cycling bag with his Olympic shoes stolen. Please help us get them back! 😓
— Ciara Horne (@CiaraHorne1) January 9, 2018
Horne later uploaded a photograph of the minimalist shoes, asking for people to keep an eye out for them for sale online.
This is what they look like! So if you see them being sold on eBay etc please let us know!! 😓 thank you so much ❤ pic.twitter.com/eds96cAtfy
— Ciara Horne (@CiaraHorne1) January 9, 2018
The shoes are moulded to Oliva’s feet and highly unlikely to be of any use to anyone else.
Twitter user Jon Antoniazzi later posted a photograph of a car with smashed side window, which he said he’d witnessed being broken into and that he had reported the incident to police.
In addition to the low level crime I witnessed at the Heath earlier, a bloke just casually broke into the car behind mine. Police called. Feel sorry for the owner who hasn’t returned to car yet #Cardiff pic.twitter.com/jR6iohf1Uu
— Jon Antoniazzi (@Jonantz) January 9, 2018
Oliva later confirmed that it was the car that contained his bag and shoes.
“I gave description to Police,” wrote Antoniazzi. “He was loitering around your car on his phone when I was going to mine. By the time I sat in the car, the alarm was going off and he was jogging down the street.”
Riding for Team Wales, 25-year-old Oliva has been contesting the sprint disciplines at the 2017-18 UCI World Cup series. He is the current keirin British national champion.
