With Jonas Vingegaard’s stage win and red jersey, the Vuelta a España seemed to be off to a fantastic start for Visma | Lease a Bike. It almost made you forget about the crash that involved nearly the entire team. In the end, it led to Axel Zingle abandoning the race, but the bad news didn’t stop there: during the night from Sunday to Monday, the team was robbed of several bikes.So there’s a double stain on the otherwise strong start for the Killer Bees. The crash was already serious, the entire team went down on a wet roundabout. Team leader Vingegaard was able to continue quickly and even gave a thumbs-up, but Axel Zingle wasn’t as lucky. His shoulder dislocated twice. Although it was reset and he managed to cross the finish line, on Monday it was decided he wasn’t fit to continue the Vuelta.A bitter pill to swallow, but the bad news didn’t end there. “Last night, our mechanics’ truck was broken into and several bikes were stolen,” Visma | Lease a Bike announced on social media. “Our mechanics are working hard to ensure the team is ready for stage 3. The police have launched an investigation into the incident.” The team did not disclose the full extent of the damage.
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18 bikes stolen, 3 found in the bushesBut the Italian media seem to know more. Tuttobiciweb reports that no fewer than 18 bikes were stolen. The total damage is estimated at a staggering €250,000. It’s a massive blow for the Dutch team, which is now scrambling to find a solution. A similar incident happened to Cofidis during the Tour de France, and they eventually managed to recover.Meanwhile, HLN reports that three bikes have already been recovered. The bikes were apparently found in the bushes next to the hotel. A small stroke of luck, but the rest of the steel steeds are still missing.