Lance Armstrong's bike swiped in Sacramento
By: Mike Aldax
February 15, 2009
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| Seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong wrote on his Twitter Web Site on Sunday morning that his custom-painted Trek time trial bike had been stolen. (Doug Pensinger/Getty Images) |
DAVIS — Lance Armstrong’s distinctive time-trial bike was stolen sometime Saturday night, and the cycling legend is offering an unspecified reward for its safe return.
"There is only one like it in the world therefore hard to pawn it off. Reward being offered," Armstrong wrote on the Twitter page he uses to keep fans abreast of news as he competes in the Amgen Tour of California.
The bike was stolen from the Team Astana truck during the night before Stage 1 of the Tour of California.
Armstrong rode the bike to a 10th-place finish Saturday in Sacramento during the Tour prologue. The race is his first competitive appearance in his native country since the seven-time Tour de France winner began his cycling comeback last month.
A few hours after the time trial, someone removed four bikes from the Astana truck outside the team hotel in Sacramento. Armstrong's time-trial bike, which was closest to the door because he was delayed by a post-race trip to doping control, was taken along with race bikes belonging to Astana teammates Steve Morabito, Yaroslav Popovych and Janez Brajkovic.
The bike has distinctive yellow-and-black wheels and the logo of Armstrong’s Livestrong foundation.
The riders all have replacement bikes, and Armstrong is using his race bike for Sunday’s 107-mile (172-kilometer) leg from Davis to Santa Rosa.
Two-time defending Tour champion Levi Leipheimer's bike wasn't stolen.
Armstrong won't need his time-trial bike again until Friday in Solvang, where the race holds its second time trial. That segment is crucial to Astana's hopes of winning the overall team title.
Armstrong wrote of the theft on Twitter, where he has been keeping a diary of sorts to inform his fans and the media of every waking moment of his day.
At around eight his morning, Armstrong wrote, “Whoa!! They just came to my room and said our truck was broken into and someone stole my time trial bike! Wtf?!?”
Armstrong posted pictures of the missing bike on Twitter (http://twitpic.com/1i8t1) in hopes that the thief will be spotted and turned in.
The 16-city Tour of California started Saturday and ends Feb. 22 in Escondido. The 750-mile route take riders throughout the state and comes briefly to San Francisco on Monday.
AEG, the organizer of the Tour of California, shares the same owners as Clarity Media, which oversee the San Francisco Examiner.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
