Canadian Olympic hopeful’s bike stolen in Arizona

Marie-Soleil Blais is missing her custom S-Works

Terry McKall April 22, 2021

Canadian pro road cyclist Marie-Soleil Blais had a recent training ride go disastrously wrong this week, when a quick stop for mid-ride fuel ended with her S-Works Amira being stolen.

Blais, who previously rode for Astana Women’s Team, is in Tucson, Arizona training for her upcoming road season. The Canadian has ventured south for warm-weather training the past several years, even writing about the popular training destination here on Canadian Cycling Magazine.

This year, the training camp is not going according to plan. On April 16, 2021, Blais stopped at a Circle-K on her way back from a training ride on Mount Lemmon.

“I left my bike [outside] and I had a really good view of it while I was standing in line,” Blais told local Kold News 13. “It was like that 20 second moment to pay that I didn’t have my eyes on the bike … and then my bike was gone. At first, it didn’t make any sense. So, I went inside the store and screamed, ‘Somebody stole my bike!’ Then, someone said, ‘Oh, I just saw a guy taking it and didn’t realize it wasn’t his’.”

While a stolen bikes is never a good thing, the timing couldn’t be worse for Blais. The S-Works Amira, custom painted and built with the usual array of top-end parts, was her own personal bike. And, with a global bike shortage dragging on, the Quebec rider is struggling to find a replacement.

Blais is appealing for help, both finding the bike and a replacement, so that she can continue with her training.

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A post shared by Marie-Soleil Blais (@msoleilblais74)

Blais’ S-Works Amira is a 48 cm custom painted frame, with SRAM Power2Max power meter and Dura-Ace C24, Zipp wheels and rim brakes. The unique paint job makes this bike extremely recognizable, so here’s hoping Blais gets it back soon!