Tour de France winner Geraint Thomas has received a new trophy after the original was stolen from a cycling show.
The Coupe Omnisports has been missing since the end of September after an event at the NEC Arena in Birmingham, U.K.
The Welsh Team Sky rider has now received an exact replica of the black and gold cup from the organiser of the Tour de France.
Police launched an investigation in October after the disappearance of the Coupe Omnisports at the end of The Cycle Show, a gathering of cycling brands to show off their latest equipment.
Team Sky had loaned the trophy to Pinarello, an Italian bike manufacturer, alongside the Vuelta a Espana and Giro D’Italia trophies won by Thomas’ team-mates Simon Yates and Chris Froome.
Event organisers were informed the trophy was missing during the clear-up operation and it later emerged it had been left unattended, with the managing director of Pinarello making a personal apology to Thomas.
Really enjoyed @sundaybrunchc4 diet went out the window for an hour… And what a great prize! 🙌🏆 Now en-route to @BBCSPOTY to celebrate a brilliant year for British Sport #SPOTY pic.twitter.com/V4T7X18Nwj
— Geraint Thomas (@GeraintThomas86) December 16, 2018
Police are still investigating the theft of the original trophy but the organiser of the Tour — Amaury Sport Organisation — arranged for a replacement to be made.
Thomas tweeted a picture of himself with the new trophy after appearing on the BBC’s Sunday Brunch programme, where he received the award.