A BICYCLE BELONGING to Olympic gold medal cyclist Philip Hindes has been stolen in a burglary, Greater Manchester Police revealed today.
Thieves raided a property in the West Didsbury area on two separate occasions in the past week, using an unknown weapon to smash through patio doors.
The house, which was unoccupied during both raids, was ransacked and the keys to a blue Volkswagen Golf taken. The raiders drove off in the stolen vehicle with a bicycle belonging to Hindes, who won his gold medal during the 2012 London Olympic Games.
The bike is described as a red, white and blue Pinarello Paris. It has a ‘Sky’ sticker, as well as Mr Hindes’ name, on it.
Police were keen to add that the bike is not the one used by Hindes during his Olympic exploits. It has only been used in training.
The car has since been found burnt out and detectives have appealed for anybody with any information to come forward.
“The reason we have publicised this theft is so that we can catch the people responsible and return the bike to its rightful owner,” said Detective Constable Rob Southern.
It might be the thieves try and offload the bike onto a sports memorabilia collector so I would urge anyone who is offered the chance to buy such a bike to call police immediately as you could be vital to helping get this bike back.
Luckily, the athlete’s gold medal was not stolen during the burglary.
Matt Rourke/AP/Press Association Images