British squad hit by bike theft at Tour of Britain as all 14 bikes stolen from mechanic’s van – just days after team’s rider was hit and “threatened” by 4x4 driver

Just days after Lifeplus Wahoo were rocked by the news that one of their riders was forced to miss this week’s Tour of Britain Women after being hit by an overtaking motorist at “high speed” on a narrow country lane, the British team’s participation in the race hung in the balance this morning after all 14 of the squad’s bikes were stolen in a shocking raid last night.

Ahead of Friday’s second stage of the revamped Tour of Britain Women in Wrexham, Lifeplus Wahoo announced on social media that thieves had targeted their base at a hotel in Shropshire, raiding their mechanic’s van and stealing the entirety of the squad’s range of Ribble bikes, leaving them without any bikes to race today’s stage – an act described by the squad’s co-founder Bob Varney as a “an absolute hammer blow to our over-achieving team already on a stretched budget”.

However, in response to the team’s shocking misfortune, several teams taking part in the race have loaned the Lifeplus Wahoo riders their spare bikes and equipment, meaning the squad – which includes U23 British time trial champion Maddie Leech and Dutch rider Babette van der Wolf, who finished 22nd on yesterday’s first stage to Llandudno – will take to the start of stage two in Wrexham.

“We woke this morning to find all 14 of our Ribble Endurance SLR bikes stolen from our mechanic’s van,” the UK-based UCI Continental squad posted on social media this morning.

“We are hoping to find a solution to enable us to start in Wrexham today. Stolen from Macdonald Hill Valley Hotel, Whitchurch, Shropshire.”

Responding to Lifeplus Wahoo’s post, Jon Dutton, the CEO of British Cycling – who now organise the Tour of Britain Women following the demise of previous organisers SweetSpot – wrote: “Really sorry to hear this. Our team will do everything we can to help you this morning.”

(Alex Whitehead/SWpix.com)

But with today’s stage, a 140km loop starting and finishing in Wrexham, getting underway at 11.30am, Lifeplus Wahoo were certainly in a race against time to ensure the team could continue following last night’s shocking raid.

That is until, in a heartwarming act of generosity, several teams also taking part in the race, including SD Worx, Liv AlUla Jayco, Human Powered Health, and Cofidis, loaned the Lifeplus Wahoo riders bikes and equipment – with their mechanics also giving up their time to make sure everything was properly fitted – to ensure they could sign on in Wrexham.

Meanwhile, Ribble confirmed on Friday afternoon that the company was sending a new fleet of their Endurance SLR bikes to the race to enable the team to continue on to Sunday’s finish in Manchester.

“Wrexham we are here,” the team posted, just over two hours after announcing the break-in.

“All of our thanks and appreciation goes out to the many teams that offered and gave their spare team bikes and their mechanics time to get our girls on the road. We wouldn’t be starting without them!”

Thanks to the generous support of other teams in the peloton, @LifeplusWahoo will start today’s stage in Wrexham.#TourOfBritain https://t.co/ud5ySk1pqc pic.twitter.com/jatBY74neG

— Lloyds Bank Tour of Britain (@TourofBritain) June 7, 2024

Speaking to British Cycling in Wrexham, Lifeplus Wahoo general manager Tom Varney added: “We’ll be on the start line. We’re extremely grateful to the other teams for lending their equipment, and to their mechanics for giving their time to help us be there.

“The riders are obviously not starting with their own bikes due to the situation overnight, but we’ll be there on the start line and we’ll be ready to fight.

“The feeling is good from yesterday and we have to try to keep the morale high. The girls are super understanding of the situation and once they’re comfortable on the bikes they’ll be ready to go.”

West Mercia Police have also confirmed that an investigation is currently underway into the raid.

Wrexham we are here 💪🏼

All of our thanks and appreciation goes out to the many teams that offered and gave their spare team bikes and their mechanics time to get our girls on the road.

We wouldn’t be starting without them! pic.twitter.com/zwaT2Q1GL0

— Lifeplus - Wahoo (@LifeplusWahoo) June 7, 2024

> British cyclist to miss Tour of Britain after being hit by driver who tried to "squeeze huge 4x4 past at high speed" on country lane blind bend before returning to "verbally abuse and threaten" female rider

Despite the generosity of the peloton keeping them on the road, this morning’s disappointing news – the latest in a long line of targeted thefts at bike races – is the second bitter blow to have struck the unfortunate British team this week, after one of Lifeplus Wahoo’s riders, Kate Richardson, was ruled out of the Tour of Britain Women after suffering injuries when she was hit by an impatient driver who tried to overtake at “high speed” on a blind bend on a narrow country lane – and who then turned around to abuse the stricken cyclist.

Richardson, who won last month's Rapha Lincoln Grand Prix, was training near Holmfirth in Yorkshire on Monday morning when she was hit by the motorist and suffered a refractured scapula, road rash, and an “incredibly bruised and swollen right hip”.

“Clearly the driver couldn’t wait ten more seconds to overtake me,” she said on Instagram. “He decided to try and squeeze his huge 4x4 past me at a high speed, hitting me hard and knocking me off my bike.

“Initially, he just drove on but turned around and came back later to verbally abuse and threaten me before getting back in his car and driving off again. Thankfully another driver came across the scene pretty quickly and kindly helped me up and drove me home.

“This of course means no Tour of Britain this week and I’m currently uncertain about what the rest of the season holds. This is a lot more than just a physical injury, it was incredibly scary and I count myself lucky that I walked away relatively unscathed compared to what it could have been. Mentally though, it will take a while to overcome.”

> “Thieves 0 - Team 1”: Bahrain Victorious hit with bike theft attempt on Milan-San Remo’s eve, but Sonny Colbrelli came to the rescue

Unfortunately, as noted above, raids on team vehicles at professional bike races are becoming increasingly common.

In March, a group of thieves attempted to steal Bahrain-Victorious’ Merida bikes the night before Milan-Sanremo, only to be thwarted by the team’s bus driver and 2021 Paris-Roubaix winner Sonny Colbrelli.

In 2021, 22 bikes were stolen from the Italian track cycling team during the UCI Track Cycling World Championships in Roubaix, including Filippo Ganna’s gold-painted Pinarello.

The bikes were in a minibus in the car park, ready to be returned to Italy when they were taken. Some of the stolen machines were valued at around £25,000 and had titanium 3D-printed handlebars worth £8,500.

It was the Romanian police’s turn to come to the rescue then, as they recovered 21 of the bikes after a raid on 14 properties in Vrancea County, along with mobile phones, drugs, and around £5,000 worth of cash.

A few months later, British team Saint Piran were also the victim of a bike theft, the Cornwall-based squad losing £30,000 of bikes stolen from a team van in the early hours of a race day in the Netherlands last June, leaving a "big dent" in their finances.

And then in November 2022, dominant women’s team SD Worx issued an appeal after several of the squad’s bikes were stolen in what was described as a “brutal burglary”.

Most recently, bike thefts targeting Euskaltel-Euskadi and Baloise Trek Lions left both teams unable to race at Tour of Slovenia and Baloise Belgium Tour respectively, after thieves targeted the teams for their high-value kit, stealing their bikes and wheels overnight.