The team of New Zealand cyclist Aaron Gate have had their bus targeted by an arson attack at the Vuelta a Espana.
The bus of Irish team Aqua Blue Sport has been 'completely gutted' after being set alight overnight, with a suspect arrested over the incident.
The incident occurred at1.20am outside the Tryp Indalo Hotel in Almeria, where the team was staying overnight. A mattress was placed under the rear of the vehicle and then set alight to spark the fire.
Fortunately, nobody was injured in the blaze, which has caused extensive damage to the bus.
The bus was parked on the street as the riders rested after a challenging 11th stage, and the photos posted by the team display the serious damage done.
The photos show a broken rear window and a hole in the roof, with extensive fire damage to the exhaust and exterior, as well as smoke damage.
The 2017 Vuelta was the debut Grand Tour for the up-and-coming Aqua Blue team, who received a wildcard into the event.
Gate, who is making his Grand Tour debut, was upbeat that his team could still make an impact on the tour.
"Crazy... But yes no one injured, and we're a team of bike racers that still have our bikes! Stage 12 here we come," Gate said on Twitter.
While the riders' bikes were stored separately, Aqua Blue Sport press officer Niall O'Connor said that the attack left the riders searching for replacement equipment, with some helmets and shoes being ruined by the fire.
"We're in contact with our sponsors and our equipment providers and we hope that they'll be able to help us out with some other equipment," he told Radio Sport.
"These guys, for three weeks they live essentially on this bus. They sleep in hotels, but the time they don't spend on the bike is spent on the bus, so what happens is their shoes may be there, their helmets may be there, some clothing."
The Aqua Blue riders are still on their way to tonight's stage 12 of the Vuelta, and O'Connor says the riders are now singularly focused on the upcoming stages.
"We're completely focused on the Vuelta, we're completely focused on getting to the race today. This will not affect the riders' performance.
"I'm sure that there will be a review of security on the race now. But our priority is to try and get this race underway today. We'll have to leave security considerations and everything else to the organisers."
Aaron Gate in action for Aqua Blue. Photo / Getty
Gate sits in 157th overall, and he and the Aqua Blue team are set to get back on their bikes at 11.30pm tonight.
