Spanish pro falls victim to €10,000 bike theft

A Spanish pro has fallen victim to bike thieves, who jumped the wall to his house and stole €10,000 (almost £9,000) worth of kit.

Gustavo César Veloso, who races for Portuguese Continental squad W52/FC Porto, revealed he had been the victim of a theft in a social media post after two bikes and other equipment was stolen from his home.

When he was about to head out for a training ride on Sunday morning (May 24) César couldn’t find his bike when he realised it had been taken.

César told Spanish newspaper La Voz de Galicia: “When I went for the bike, it wasn’t there. I went outside the house to see if anyone had left it outside as a joke, but then I was the wire on top of the wall of the house was torn. Then I realised what happened.”

He then reported the theft to the police and has asked cyclists to keep an eye out for the machines.

The thieves took his team’s Swift Ultravox race bike and a Speedsix mountain bike.

César also pointed that the bike is officially owned by the team and that if he is unable to recover it, he will be responsible for the cost because it wasn’t covered by his home insurance.

The thieves jumped over the outer wall at the rear of César’s home in Vilagarcía on Spain’s north-western coast.

Back in the UK, an insurer has reported an almost 50 per cent increase in bike thefts since lockdown started as retailers have seen a significant jump in the number of people buying bikes, as they look for new ways of staying fit and travelling to work.

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In turn criminals have been taking advantage of cycling’s growing popularity, resulting in an increase in bike thefts over the last seven weeks, despite burglaries falling because people are staying at home.