On Thursday, 29-year-old Colombian cyclist Miguel Angel Lopez was reportedly kidnapped by three men and held at his family home in Boyaca for three hours before the thieves made off with $800,000 and his truck.
According to El Tiempo, police confirmed that around 5 pm Lopez was intercepted by three individuals who detained him, then eventually "stole his Ford truck, a cell phone, and $800,000."
Commander of the Boyaca police department, Colonel María Margarita Mantilla said, "Around 10:30 at night, Lopez approached the Sogamoso police station and filed a complaint."
According to Reuters, Lopez, a cyclist for the Colombian Team Medellin-EMP, was provisionally suspended from the International Cycling Union (ICU) in July for potentially violating its anti-doping rules in the weeks leading up to the Giro d'Italia 2022 bike race.
Lopez was previously a rider for Astana-Qazaqstan, but his contract was ended when evidence obtained by Spanish law enforcement agencies which allegedly linked him to Marcos Maynar, who is under investigation for alleged drug trafficking and money laundering.
Following the accusations, Lopez denied any wrongdoing and noted that he has never tested positive for "any drugs or doping."
In 2019, Lopez made headlines after he was captured on video slapping a spectator who fell onto him during the 2019 Giro d'Italia race. After the incident, Lopez apologized for his actions, he said, "I'm sorry for what happened. I was full of pure adrenaline." Lopez added, "But there needs to be more respect for the cyclists." Lopez was not punished for the incident after it was determined that he had a "human reaction," according to USA Today.
According to Pro Cycling Stats, the 29-year-old is number 136 in the UCI world rankings and 141 in the PCS rankings. One of his career highlights came in 2020 when he won the 17th stage of the Tour de France by 15 seconds.
