Ironman participants’ pricey bicycles stolen
Two bicycles belonging to Ironman participants were stolen from their guesthouse 48 hours before the competition started on Sunday.
The bicycles, one of which is valued at R65 000, were stolen from the garage at The Bay Lodge on the Beach in Bay View on Friday night, 17 November.
It is the first time athlete Ibrahim Cbibili from Belgium is visiting South Africa. His bicycle is a Giant Propel Advanced Pro disc road bike was one of several items stolen from the guesthouse.
"This is my first time travelling such a long distance from Morocco. It is really heartbreaking to experience such issues, especially with regards to safety." Ibrahim said he would not visit Mossel Bay again.
The other bicycle, also a specialised bike, belongs to Anne-Mari Lemmon. Her husband, Mark, gave it to her as a birthday present. It is worth about R50 000.
Pictures of her stolen bicycle were put on Facebook shortly after the incident. A friend of hers wrote: "It happened last night during load shedding at the very expensive Bay Lodge. It is less than 16 hours before the race."
Anne-Marie and Mark are from Cape Town. She said: "An angel, Genelle van der Riet, lent her bicycle to me to use for the race. We don't know each other from a bar of soap." She told the Mossel Bay Advertiser that they will visit Mossel Bay again.
"I can't hold a bad incident against a beautiful town."
Rent his bicycle
Mossel Bay resident Nigo van Huyssteen was working at Monties Cycle & Sport in Mossel Bay when he heard of Ibrahim's crisis. He decided to rent his bicycle to Ibrahim for R2 500.
"I felt so sorry for him. We entered into an agreement that he could rent my bicycle. We decided on a rental amount just in case something happened to the bicycle during the race."
A spokesperson for the guesthouse told the Advertiser that camera footage showed two suspects entering the premises from the beach. "The footage shows them walking on
the beach towards the guesthouse. They stole computers, the two bicycles, alcohol and the DStv decoder, among other items."
She said the footage showed the suspects walking with the stolen goods up Garret Street.
Da Gamaskop Police are investigating a case of theft and no one had yet been arrested by the time of going to print.
The bicycles have not yet been found.
Ibrahim says he is grateful for the support from Mossel Bay residents. "We met some amazing souls that helped us through the process."
He says the competition went well, despite the stress he experienced, his bicycle being stolen such a short time before competing.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Da Gamaskop Police Station (044 606 2200).