{"id":570613,"date":"2026-03-30T11:31:08","date_gmt":"2026-03-30T11:31:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/570613\/"},"modified":"2026-03-30T11:31:08","modified_gmt":"2026-03-30T11:31:08","slug":"visma-lease-a-bike-shaken-after-intoxicated-spectators-attack-team-car","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/570613\/","title":{"rendered":"Visma-Lease a Bike ‘shaken’ after ‘intoxicated’ spectators attack team car"},"content":{"rendered":"

Visma-Lease a Bike<\/a> staff were left \u201cshaken\u201d after two roadside spectators attacked their team car and tried to steal a bike from the roof during a race.<\/p>\n

The incident happened on Saturday during the fourth stage of the Settimana Internazionale Coppi e Bartali in Italy.<\/p>\n

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A video, shared on Instagram by Italian outlet Scannellatori Seriali<\/a>, shows one of the pair on top of the car trying to free a bike. After the car brakes and propels the person down the windscreen, the other person on the ground can then be seen punching the driver\u2019s window and shouting aggressively.<\/p>\n

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In a statement issued later that evening, Visma-Lease a Bike<\/a> described the pair as \u201cintoxicated supporters\u201d. The team also confirmed they had reported the incident to the police and the Coppi e Bartali organisers.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe take this incident very seriously, as it put the safety of our colleagues at risk,\u201d team boss Richard Plugge<\/a> said. \u201cIn the end, no equipment was stolen and no damage was caused. The colleagues in the car are okay, but understandably shaken.\u201d<\/p>\n

One of the staff members in the car was later said to be Ga\u00ebtan Pons, a sports director who joined Visma-Lease a Bike from the Unibet Rose Rockets this season.<\/p>\n

Speaking to Cycling Pro Net<\/a> the following day, Robert Wagner, another Visma-Lease a Bike sports director who was in a different car at the race, said the incident came \u201cout of the blue\u201d.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThere was the crash [in the race], and my colleague got blocked with the car, so he couldn\u2019t move anywhere, and then these two guys were there,\u201d Wagner said. \u201cObviously these two people jumped on the car and also tried to punish us in a way. No clue why.\u201d<\/p>\n

There have been no further statements from either the Coppi e Bartali organisers or the local police.<\/p>\n

Jayco<\/a> AlUla\u2019s Mauro Schmid won the 41st edition of the race, which took place over five days across the north of Italy. The Swiss rider\u2019s victory came thanks to a final-day raid, which earned him enough bonus seconds across the line to bunnyhop Ineos Grenadiers<\/a>\u2019 Axel Laurance at the top of the general classification.<\/p>\n

Laurance won stages one and four, while Continental-level rider Filippo D\u2019Aiuto (General Store-Essegibi-F.Lli Curia) took a brace of victories on stages two and three. Visma-Lease a Bike\u2019s highest overall finisher was Anton Schiffer in fifth.<\/p>\n

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