Police recover Kwiatkowski's world championship Specialized S-Works

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Police recovered two bikes stolen from the headquarters of the Specialized Bicycle Components in Morgan Hill, including the S-Works Tarmac that Michal Kwiatkowski rode to victory in the World Championships in Ponferrada last September.

Kwiatkowski's bike and a limited edition McLaren Tarmac were taken from the lobby of the Specialized building on February 2. Together, the bikes were estimated to be worth $44,000.

According to Bicycle Retailer, Kannadi Ridenour, 26, was trying to sell the bikes and a local mechanic, Steven Scheper, realized that something was amiss and contacted Specialized through a local dealer. The police were brought in, and Scheper arranged to meet the seller in a Morgan Hill strip mall last Tuesday night. When she arrived, she led the detectives to a nearby residence where the bikes were being kept.

Ryan Balestrini, 34, was at the residence where the bikes were found. Police discovered that Balestrini had three outstanding warrants for his arrest, while Ridenour was arrested for felony possession of stolen property and possession of methamphetamine. Balestrini was arrested for felony possession of stolen property, possession of methamphetamine, possession of narcotic paraphernalia, warrants and violation of probation.

Specialized reportedly offered Scheper a bike as a reward, but he was happy just to save the bikes from the pair. "I might pick out a low-end dirt jumper. I don't need a reward, I'm glad the bikes are back because they are really one-of-a-kind," Scheper said to Bicycle Retailer and Industry News. "I wouldn't want some tweeker to just cut them up and sell off the parts."