For years Girona has become a mandatory stop for professionals, amateurs and road cycling fans from all over the world. After the lethargy caused by the pandemic, the hobby and businesses dedicated to this type of tourist have not stopped growing. In 2022, it was estimated that in the city alone there would be around thirty stores linked to the sector, a number that has been rising.
A study by the University of Girona (UdG) published a few months ago pointed out a series of factors that have been key in the spectacular growth that has been experienced not only in Girona city, but also in the entire demarcation: geography, a benign climate that allows you to train all year round, the non-massification and tranquility of the destination, the anonymity of top-level cyclists (historians such as Lance Armstrong, David Millar and Johnny Weltz have become ambassadors of the destination) and the connection to big cities like Barcelona. Lee Comerford, co-founder of Eat Sleep Cycle, which brings together several catering, sale and rental businesses of high-end bikes in the center of Girona, adds a sixth factor. "Here, moreover, they feel safe. In London, you leave a bike untied on the street and in a second it has been stolen," he says.
Since 2019, on average, two bikes have been stolen in Girona every three days. A figure which, according to the Mossos d'Esquadra, does not exceed that of other police regions. But the statistics point to an increase in thefts of high-end bikes. Until June, a total of 152 bicycles had been stolen in the city, of which 24 were worth more than 3,000 euros, according to police data. As a percentage, they account for 16% of the total.
In 2022, when bicycle tourism had already recovered from the forced shutdown of the previous years due to the pandemic, twenty thefts of high-end bikes were counted throughout the year, which accounted for 8% of the total . So, in half a year, more expensive bikes have been stolen than in the whole of last year. The feeling that some employers in the sector have is that you need to be more vigilant now than a while ago.
In two weeks, two central cafes linked to the cycling tourist have suffered robberies and for a double reason. In one of them, the public's collaboration was decisive in arresting the thief, a 43-year-old man with a history of theft. The events took place on July 27 in a bar restaurant on Carrer Perill, when a foreign fan established in the city left the bike on a stand, outside the premises, without any fixing system.
When he realized it, the thief fled very quickly on the stolen bike, valued at 5,500 euros. The pursuit of two cyclists who witnessed the theft was decisive for the Mossos d'Esquadra to arrest him on Avinguda Jaume I with the Barcelona road. A day earlier, in the same place, a former Canadian Olympic athlete had to end his vacation early when his bike, valued at around 10,000 euros, was stolen.
"Many customers from the United States, Canada, the United Arab Emirates, when they come here they feel safe, relax and trust and make the mistake of not tying their bikes," says Josep Rubio, owner of the Hors Catégorie bar restaurant , where the two robberies were committed. “I opened five years ago and had no problems before; now, in a week, we have suffered two episodes", he says. The first measure has been to buy locks so that customers can leave their bikes out of harm's way while they have lunch. A few meters away, the businesses of the Eat Sleep Cycle brand have also suffered a couple of thefts in recent days. One of the bikes was on an outside bike tether, untethered. The other in a kind of indoor parking that the business makes available to customers. In no time at all the thieves took away a loot of 6,000 euros in these expensive two-wheeled vehicles. They acted without force or violence. The advice that employees give to customers when they are ready to rent is: "Keep the bike tied and don't lose sight of it", they explain from a high-end bike rental shop.
"The professional cyclist, the one who has the bike as a work tool, is very attentive; but the one who comes here on holiday to practice his hobby is more relaxed", acknowledges Verònica Sánchez. A couple of times, moreover, they have caught the thieves in the act. Despite these cases, Comerford is "calm" and does not believe that Girona is an unsafe destination for the group. Of course, he asks the Consistory to make available to cyclists more devices for tying bicycles in the city, according to the local manager. The Councilor for Security, Sílvia Aliu, explains that they will work to create more bicycle parking spaces and increase security at the points on the public road where the most thefts are concentrated.
In fact, the street is the main place where good bikes are stolen, according to data provided by the Mossos d'Esquadra. They are also stolen from inside homes, shops or storage rooms. A mistake: leaving valuables in rooms that are usually full of junk.
With regard to the profile of the thief, the agent of the Regional Unit of Proximity to the Citizen Service (Urpac) in Girona, Marta Pla, speaks of two profiles: there is "the one who is looking for expensive bikes, and who probably before committing the furt already knows who will be the buyer", and those who "need immediate money" and who try to resell it on second-hand portals. "Watch out if someone sees on one of these portals a bike valued at 5,000 euros that is being sold at half price, because it is most likely stolen", he says, adding that they catch many thieves when they want to sell a stolen bike through the internet. From January to June, ten people were arrested for bike thefts in the city, six more than in all of 2019.
