UAE Team ADQ put have asked for the public’s help in finding Paula Blasi‘s Colnago Y1Rs after it was stolen from the area near the finish of stage 1 of the Volta a Catalunya Feminas in Santa Susanna, Spain on Friday.
After Blasi finished 32nd on the stage behind winner Nienke Veenhoven (Visma-Lease a Bike), her bike vanished from the parking lot where teams gathered after the race.
“The theft occurred shortly after the finish of the stage in the parking area adjacent to the team hotel and finish zone, where several teams were gathered following the race,” the team wrote in a press release.
“The bicycle is a distinctive Colnago Y1Rs featuring UAE Team ADQ’s official colours and race specifications, making it highly identifiable and extremely difficult to resell.”
Blasi, 23, recent winner of the Tour Féminin des Pyrénées and Vuelta España Femenina, is one of the top rising stars in the women’s peloton.
Professional cycling events have been targeted by bike thieves across Europe in recent years, with the Visma-Lease a Bike men’s team losing 18 bikes at last year’s Vuelta a España.
A few days later in France, the TotalEnergies team were relieved of 20 bikes at the Tour Poitou-Charentes. That theft followed a brazen robbery of 11 of the Cofidis team’s bikes at the Tour de France – but those were subsequently recovered.
But then, two weeks later, Cofidis’ women’s team became the target, with 11 of their Look bikes taken during the Baloise Ladies Tour in Belgium.
Blasi’s team say they have reported the incident to Spanish authorities and an investigation has been opened, but they have asked the public for help.
“UAE Team ADQ kindly asks the cycling community and the public to report any relevant information or sightings of the bicycle to local authorities,” they wrote.
“We appreciate the support and collaboration of everyone involved.”
