Most of Italy's track cycling team were left without a bike to ride on at the world championships after 20 bikes were stolen by a "well-organised" gang of thieves in France.
The finest Italian pedallers were all at the International Cycling Union Track Cycling World Championships in the northern city of Roubaix last week.
The quartet of Filippo Ganna, Liam Bertazzo, Jonathan Milan and Simone Consonni enjoyed victory in the team pursuit on Thursday, crossing the line fastest on their gold-painted bikes to secure the world title.
But 24 hours later those title-winning bikes had gone missing, along with 16 others, from the hotel in nearby Lille where the Italian team was staying for the competition.
In total, 15 track bikes and five other machines were taken on the evening of Friday, October 22, after they had been loaded into a minibus in the hotel car park ahead of their return to Italy.
The four team pursuit bikes alone were valued at around £25,000 each, with several hundred thousand pounds' worth of equipment taken in total.
Police believe the theft was carried out by professionals, according to Italian newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport.
"They were well organised," head of the Italian delegation Roberto Amadio told the newspaper.
"We knew how difficult the trip could be from a [safety] point of view, so we chose to stay in a hotel with a private, monitored car park even if the commute each day was a bit more demanding.
"Evidently, even these measures didn't stop the perpetrators."
Manufacturer Cicli Pinarello took to social media to highlight the theft.
"We are shocked to hear that most of the bikes of the Italian national team have been stolen last night in Roubaix," the company said on Instagram.
"All bikes are painted in unique colours and most with 3D printed custom handlebars very important to athletes.
"We ask our community of followers and fans to report to infobike@pinarello.com if you see any of these bikes for sale online."
Despite the theft, the Italian riders were able to continue to take part in the final two days of competition on Saturday and Sunday as they had left some bikes at the arena.
They went on to finish third in the final medal table, winning four gold, three silver and three bronze medals to come in behind the Netherlands and winners Germany.
Martina Fidanza had already won the women's scratch race while Letizia Paternoster was successful in the elimination event, and Elia Viviani won the men's elimination race to add to the team pursuit victory.
But it was Germany's Lea Sophie Friedrich who was the star of the show, winning three gold medals and a silver across the five-day event to help her country top the table.
