Spanish police have confirmed they recovered a prized bicycle that belongs to a team taking part in the Vuelta a España, after finding it on sale in a secondhand shop for an unusually low price.

Police officers in the Mediterranean port of Málaga recovered the specially constructed cycle, seeing it marked at €120 (£90) when its exceptional technical characteristics should have placed its value at around €12,000 (£8,200), a statement reads.

The bicycle had not yet been reported stolen because teams competing in the three-week Vuelta tour say they have not yet had time to call the police. However, investigators identified the machine as belonging to the Australian team Orica-GreenEdge.

The cycle was returned to its rightful owners on Sunday, the day the race ends in Madrid.