New blow to the peloton: 20 bikes stolen from the TotalEnergies team during the race

Just a few days after Visma-Lease a Bike had their bikes stolen, thieves strike again at the peloton. Not at La Vuelta but the incident occurred during the Tour du Poitou-Charentes in France.

Another massive bike theft in a race raises alarms in the peloton

A total of 20 bikes from the American brand ENVE were stolen last night from the TotalEnergies team truck that is competing in the Tour de Poitou-Charentes, a race taking place in the French region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine.

This theft comes just a few days after Visma-Lease a Bike had 18 bikes stolen during their time in Italy for La Vuelta. Considering that the average price of bikes used by professionals exceeds €10,000, it's clear why thieves have found a good source of income in cycling teams.

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Additionally, it's adding insult to injury for the French team, who also had their bikes stolen last year during the Tour de France, and this year, Cofidis also suffered a theft during the Tour de France.

Fortunately for TotalEnergies, most of the stolen bikes are road bikes so they shouldn't have a problem competing in today's stage, which is a time trial, although they may need to borrow some bikes.

Furthermore, the team's headquarters are just a couple of hours away by car, so they are likely already preparing new bikes to be able to finish their participation in the Tour de Poitou-Charentes, where their cyclist Jason Tesson is currently in third place overall after winning the first stage.