Lance Armstrong 'offers' Tour de France trophy to Geraint Thomas after Welshman's is stolen

Geraint Thomas' Tour de France trophy has been stolen after being displayed at the Cycle Show in Birmingham, Team Sky have said.

Sky have been displaying all three Grand Tour trophies - which were won by Thomas and Chris Froome between September last year and July this - at various events across the country.

The trophies had been loaned to their bike supplier Pinarello for the Cycle Show, which was held at the NEC over the last weekend in September.

Sky say the trophy was stolen after being momentarily left unattended while the display was packed up at the end of the event. The matter is now the subject of a police investigation.

Former American cyclist Lance Armstrong, who had his seven Tour de France titles stripped from him after testing positive for drugs, joked on social media that Geraint could borrow one of his trophies.

Richard Hemington, managing director of Pinarello UK said: "We are obviously devastated about this. We accept full responsibility and have personally apologised to Geraint. Obviously we all hope that the trophy can be recovered."

West Midlands police are investigating the theft from the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham.