Bikes ridden to some of professional cycling's greatest victories in the modern era, made "irreplaceable" by extraordinary performances by names such as Peter Sagan, Mathieu van der Poel, Julian Alaphilippe and Egan Bernal, have been stolen during an overnight burglary at the Shimano Experience Center in Valkenburg, in the Netherlands.
Shimano revealed that six bikes "beyond any monetary value" were taken during a raid on Friday night, staff arriving at the site in the morning discovering that locks had been forced open and bikes stolen.
Van der Poel's Canyon Aeroad CFR—World Champion Edition, Bernal's Pinarello Dogma, a Scott Foil ridden by Fabio Jakobsen, Alaphilippe's Specialized S-Works, Matej Mohorič's Merida REACTO Team Pearl Design, and Sagan's Specialized S-Works Venge were taken.
Components giant Shimano, whose Dutch 'Experience Center' in Valkenburg, located close to the roads that decide Amstel Gold Race each spring, opened in April 2019 and has "extensive exhibits, virtual displays, and simulators and provides visitors with opportunities to see and use Shimano products and the latest technologies".
The bikes were on display at the centre, a targeted raid taking place overnight when no staff were on site, Shimano saying it is "relieved" nobody was harmed during the break-in.
"The stolen bikes are beyond any monetary value, having played their part in cycling history, at the Tour de France, at the World Championships, at the Olympics, and at countless other vital events in the cycling world," the brand said. "If you have any information regarding the theft or if anyone should offer to sell you one of the above bikes, please contact your local authorities."
High-value bikes are an attractive target for organised criminals due to their sell-on value, Pinarello too suffering a break in at its Treviso showroom last November. Masked raiders took bikes worth €250,000, even returning twice in the same day to take 19 items after cutting through a fence and gaining access via a workshop's emergency exit.
It was believed the burglary was highly organised and well-planned due to the men targeting high-value models and knowing exactly where in the showroom to access them.
In 2021, Romanian police recovered 21 of the 22 Italian track cycling team's bicycles that were stolen from a hotel car park during the UCI Track Cycling World Championships of that year.
Filippo Ganna's gold Pinarello was among the haul, worth an estimated £500,000, which also included the fellow newly-crowned team pursuit world champions Liam Bertazzo, Jonathan Milan and Simone Consonni's bikes, each worth £25,000 and featuring a titanium 3D-printed handlebar alone worth £8,500.
In December 2021, two teenagers were sentenced to 18 months in prison for their role in the crime.
A few months later, in February 2022, organised criminals allegedly used sleeping gas to incapacitate the driver of an HGV transporting a large number of Shimano components across Germany, the heist seeing components for 10,000 bicycles stolen.
Following the incident the largest Czech-based bicycle producer BIKE FUN International (BFI) warned the bike industry that components could be a new target for organised crime.
Professional cycling teams have also been targeted, leading Women's WorldTour outfit SD Worx the victims of a "brutal burglary" at the end of the 2022 season which saw Specialized Tarmac, Roubaix and Shiv models stolen.
At this year's Tour of Britain, British squad Lifeplus Wahoo was hit by a bike theft and lost all 14 bikes stolen from mechanic's van. The team has since announced it will not be continuing due to financial troubles, citing the theft as a contributing factor and an "absolute hammer blow to our over-achieving team on a stretched budget".