Simon Gerrans' bike, which was stolen during the Vuelta a Espana, has been recovered and returned to the team. Policemen found the bike in a second-hand shop in Malaga.
The Orica-GreenEdge bike was stolen after stage three, which ended in Malaga. This past weekend, policemen were checking out pawn shops for stolen goods and found the bike offered for only 120 Euros. Its “exceptional characteristics” made the low price seem suspicious, and investigation proved it to be Gerrans' bike, worth some 12,000 Euros.
A man "with a long police record" had sold the bike to the shop, according to a police statement.
Boeckmans back in Belgium
Kris Boeckmans has returned to Belgium, where he will remain hospitalised. Lotto-Soudal reported that he was transported by a medical flight on September 11, shortly after being awakened from an induced coma.
Boeckmans crashed on the eighth stage of the Vuelta a Espana, suffering facial trauma with several fractures, a concussion, three broken ribs, pneumothorax, laceration of the lung, bleeding of the lung and swollen pulmonary tissue. He was placed in an induced coma in the intensive care unit of a hospital in Murcia.
The team announced on Sept. 10 that he had been awakened out of the coma, and that scans indicated no further injuries. He will still have a long recuperation and will need to undergo surgery for the facial fractures.
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Ireland for the World Championships
Sam Bennett and Conor Dunne will take on the Elite men's road race at the UCI World Championships for Ireland, with the federation admitting it has "been been hit with injuries at Elite level but all the selected riders are in the best shape possible."
National time trial champion Siobhán Horgan will contest the Elite women's time trial, with national road champion Fiona Meade and Olivia Dillon riding the road race.
Ireland will not have an entry in the Elite men's time trial, however, Irish national time trial champion Ryan Mullen will compete in the Under 23 event where he finished second by just half a second to Australia's Campbell Flakemore.
Pöstlberger replaces Eisel for Austria
Lukas Pöstlberger will ride the Elite men's road race for Austria, in place of the injured Bernhard Eisel. Eisel broke his left arm in a crash at the GP Cycliste Quebec last week.
Pöstlberger, who is riding as a stagiaire with Bora-Argon 18, will joint Marco Haller and Georg Preidler in the race. This year he won a stage at the Tour of Austria and the overall classification at the An Post Ras.
The 23-year-old had already been nominated to ride the Elite men's time trial race in Richmond.
