Tour de France team has 11 bikes stolen
Photo:
AFP
Team Cofidis had 11 bikes stolen from their truck overnight before the start of the second stage of the Tour de France.
The team, based near Lille, were able to find enough bikes to start stage two, a 209.1-km hilly ride from Lauwin-Planque to Boulogne-sur-Mer, but they condemned the burglary.
Each bike is estimated by the team to have cost 13,000 euros (NZ$25,000).
"The door of the workshop truck was forced open, and 11 of our LOOK Cycle bikes were stolen despite the security measures that had been put in place," the team said in a statement.
"The Cofidis team strongly condemns this act of incivility and calls on the perpetrators to act with civility and responsibility."
The team added that police officers visited the hotel to document the burglary and had begun their investigation.
Emanuel Buchmann was the best of the Cofidis riders on the stage, finishing 20th. He is 14th after two stages.
The Netherlands' Mathieu van der Poel won stage two ahead of Slovenian Tadej Pogacar in a sprint finish.
New Zealander Laurence Pithie, riding for Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, finished 113th on the stage and is 105th overall.
A large leading group stayed together for much of the stage which boiled up into a mass sprint for the line, Van der Poel edging out Pogacar in a photo finish with Denmark's Jonas Vingegaard taking third place.
Alpecin-Deceuninck's Van der Poel also claimed the race leader's yellow jersey after winning the longest stage of the Tour, a 209.1km route from Lauwin-Planque to the northern coastal city of Boulogne-sur-Mer.
"It was super difficult, the final was actually harder than I thought," Van der Poel said.
"People said I was a favourite for today, but if you see which riders were up there on the climbs, I think I did a really good job to be there."
Alpecin-Deceuninck can celebrate their second Tour win this year after Belgian Jasper Philipsen won the opening stage on Saturday.
Due to adverse weather conditions that caused logistical issues, the start of the stage was delayed by about 15 minutes.
Stage three is a 178.3km route over flat terrain from Valenciennes to Dunkirk on Tuesday.
- Reuters
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
RNZ News
30 minutes ago
- RNZ News
Robertson wants All Blacks to ‘play fast, think fast and adapt fast'
All Blacks v France Kick-off: 7:05pm Saturday 12 July Sky Stadium, Wellington Live blog updates on RNZ Were the All Blacks caught on the hop by a fired up French team last weekend? Or were the issues on attack of their own making? Scott Robertson is expecting a sharper performance out of his side this Saturday night in a venue where they have struggled for most of the last decade, saying that the up tempo gameplan will continue. "Play fast, think fast and adapt fast. We've got the skill set to do it,' said Robertson at Thursday's team naming press conference. "We know with our players, and you've seen that across the whole pack. And it's exciting thing about it, so we'll keep creating. Like I said the other day, if, if the wind suddenly comes in off the Strait, we'll adapt and play to the wind in the rain as well. But our intention is to use our skills as much as we can." Robertson has largely stuck with the side that won 31-27 in the first test , citing continuity as the main motivator. Timoci Tavatavanawai, who will debut off the bench and replaces Quinn Tupaea, is the only non-injury related change. Timoci Tavatavanawai, of the Highlanders, takes on the Chiefs' defence in their Super Rugby Pacific match in Hamilton on 19 April 2025. Photo: Jeremy Ward/Photosport Patrick Tuipulotu comes into the second row for injured skipper Scott Barrett, while Caleb Clarke comes onto the wing to replace Sevu Reece. That's caused probably the most interesting situation with the side, as it means Rieko Ioane moves over to the right wing - somewhere he's barely played at first class level. "(Rieko) can play either wing. He said to us he can play either wing or centre, so a bit of continuity for him and give me another crack at it." Continuity was also the reason why two of last weekend's most talked about selections were repeated, with Tupou Vaa'i and Billy Proctor both starting at blindside and centre respectively. However, it is fair to say that the selections probably weren't the main issue is a first test that ended up being far closer than anyone thought. The application of a gameplan designed to confuse and frustrate the defence led to a few wrong options being taken, even if it did result in the first All Black win over France in seven years. "We'll go and act on it. So a lot of instinctual like you can see how we set up, across the field to play from anywhere. And if it's on, we'll go." Jordie Barrett and Théo Attissogbe challenge for the ball in the All Blacks' first test against France this season. Photo: Marty Melville / While that's all well and good, the French plan is almost certainly going to be the same as last weekend too. A heavy diet of long kicks designed to force the All Blacks into running into contact on their own side of halfway paid dividends early on, however Robertson anticipates more contestable possession. "With no escorting the air battle is about how to tap back, there's a lot of scraps on the ground and that now it's changed a little bit. So the aerial game is critical, and the French are very, very good at it. You know, you look through their club footy right to test footy, how good their kickers are." The test is sold out, which is a serious statement by the All Blacks and NZ Rugby after plenty of talk in the lead up to this series about the perceived lack of quality of their opposition. Robertson said that the poor results in Wellington - only two wins in their last eight visits - was something the team was hoping to rectify. "The people, the local whenua. We fully respect the Kamate haka, where it comes from (local Wellington iwi Ngāti Toa). I think it's important we understand that the performance and the ability to call it somewhere that we're really proud of and extremely passionate to play, starts every time we get here, every time we play. People are turning up to see a performance they'll be proud of."
RNZ News
an hour ago
- RNZ News
All Blacks coach makes two injury-enforced changes to side
All Blacks coach Scott Robertson has made two injury-enforced changes to his starting side for the second test against France naming one debutant in the process. Meanwhile the Black Ferns have also named their squad for a one off test against Australia in the capital with Ruby Tui a surprise inclusion. Tui has an opportunity to impress before this year's women's World Cup after initially being left out of the Black Ferns squad. RNZ rugby reporter Joe Porter spoke to Lisa Owen. Tags: To embed this content on your own webpage, cut and paste the following: See terms of use.
1News
5 hours ago
- 1News
All Blacks' selectors double down in bid for accuracy in second Test
All Blacks head coach Scott Robertson has doubled down on his most experimental selection of the first Test, with Tupou Vaa'i again starting at blindside flanker in the second Test against France and Patrick Tuipulotu predictably replacing injured skipper Scott Barrett. Vaa'i, who has vastly more experience at lock, had a solid game in the No.6 jersey in Dunedin, and it is clear that Robertson wants to keep big changes to a minimum in the absence of captain Barrett, and right wing Sevu Reece, ruled out early after a head injury last weekend. Rieko Ioane starts on the right wing as Reece's replacement, with Caleb Clarke on the left wing in his first Test of the year. Billy Proctor retains his place at centre. Openside flanker Ardie Savea will captain the team. ADVERTISEMENT Perhaps the most significant of the three changes takes place on the reserves bench, with back-up midfielder Quinn Tupaea dropping out and Timoci Tavatavanawai in line to make his Test debut after being named there alongside Cortez Ratima and Damian McKenzie. Otherwise, Robertson's line-up is unchanged from the at-times scratchy 31-27 victory under the roof. Robertson will this week stress the need for accuracy in what will be very different conditions at the Cake Tin, and clearly he believes the best way to achieve that is by keeping combinations in place. Patrick Tuipulotu celebrates a try against Japan in Tokyo last year. (Source: Photosport) It is a win for 22-year-old lock Fabian Holland, who distinguished himself on debut on his home pitch in the deep south, and he deserves another crack at a French team which pushed the All Blacks all the way and will be disappointed they weren't more accurate in the final minutes when chasing what would have been a spectacular and significant victory. It must be said, though, that France were helped by the All Blacks' three disallowed tries, with television match official Damon Murphy overturning all three. Beauden Barrett will again pull the strings at first-five, with McKenzie, on within a minute in Dunedin as Reece's replacement, predictably dropping back to the bench to add balance and, potentially, impact in the second half. 'Test series are a unique and exciting opportunity. Both teams now have a better idea of what they're going to get on Saturday night, and both will lift for this next occasion. We know where we need to improve,' Robertson said. ADVERTISEMENT 'It is also awesome to be part of a double-header with the Black Ferns, who will take on Australia at 4:30pm. We've enjoyed connecting with the team this week and know they will put on a spectacle for the fans at Sky Stadium, in their last domestic game before the Rugby World Cup.' A win this weekend would see the All Blacks awarded the Dave Gallaher Trophy for the first time since 2018. The trophy is named after the 1905–06 All Black captain who was killed in Belgium during World War I. All Blacks match-day 23 (Test caps in brackets; * denotes debutant) 1. Ethan de Groot (30), 2. Codie Taylor (97) (Vice-Captain), 3. Fletcher Newell (23), 4. Patrick Tuipulotu (51), 5. Fabian Holland (1), 6. Tupou Vaa'i (39), 7. Ardie Savea (95) (Captain), 8. Christian Lio-Willie (1), 9. Cam Roigard (11), 10. Beauden Barrett (135), 11. Caleb Clarke (29), 12. Jordie Barrett (69) (Vice-Captain), 13. Billy Proctor (3), 14. Rieko Ioane (82), 15. Will Jordan (42). Reserves: 16. Samisoni Taukei'aho (31), 17. Ollie Norris (1), 18. Pasilio Tosi (8), 19. Samipeni Finau (9), 20. Du'Plessis Kirifi (1), 21. Cortez Ratima (12), 22. Timoci Tavatavanawai *, 23. Damian McKenzie (62). Unavailable due to injury: Tamaiti Williams (knee); Tyrel Lomax (calf); Wallace Sititi (ankle); Luke Jacobson (concussion); Sevu Reece (concussion); Scott Barrett (calf).
