The team bus of Irish cycling team Aqua Blue Sport was severely damaged in Spain overnight.
Aqua Blue Sport are currently competing in the Vuelta a Espana after receiving a wild card entry to the tour. Stefan Denifl, one of their riders, currently sits in 68th after 11 stages. Earlier in the tour, Adam Blythe narrowly missed out on a stage victory when he finished third on day two.
Extensive damage was sustained to the rear of the bus along with the interior.
In a statement (via RTÉ), it was said the incident occurred outside a hotel in Almeria in the early hours of this morning when a mattress was placed under the vehicle and set on fire.
A suspect has been arrested by Spanish police.
At approximately 1.20am on 31st August, 2017 the Aqua Blue Sport Team Bus was completely gutted in a cowardly arson attack.
The incident happened outside the Tryp Indalo Hotel in Almeria where the team were staying over night. The bus was parked on an adjoining street of Trevesia de San Luis.
A mattress was placed under the rear of the vehicle and set alight. A suspect was arrested by local police near the scene and is currently in custody.
As this is an active investigation we will not be releasing any further information.
We would like to extend our gratitude to the Fire Service and the Police for their help during this difficult time. We would also like to thank Unipublic and ASO for their assistance.
The team also released images of the attack.
