Motorcycle robbers drag Richardson off his bike in Richmond Park attack
Alexandar Richardson, a professional rider with Belgian UCI Proteam Alpecin-fenix, has described how he was mugged by a gang of mask-wearing, machete-wielding robbers on motorbikes while out training in Richmond Park on Thursday.
The robbers made off with his custom Specialized bike – worth about £10,000 – having dragged Richardson 100 metres as he tried to cling on to it. The 31-year-old called the ordeal “shocking” and said he would not return to Richmond Park.
“I won’t go back there,” he told the
Evening Standard. “I can’t afford for this to happen again. I saw them on their powerful motorcycles nod to each other, and I knew I was in trouble. They saw I had a nice bike and they were committed to getting it. I don’t know what lengths they would have gone to, but they could easily have said ‘this guy is not giving up, let’s slice him’. “Luckily I’m used to physical injury, you just get up and get on with it.
“My bike is very distinctive. I’m hoping I can get it back.” Richardson said the incident took place at around 3pm on Thursday as he completed a training ride. “Two motorbikes with four men and balaclavas started following me,” he wrote on Instagram. “I knew they wanted my bike. “I started riding full speed to the cafe about 500 metres away. “They simply rode one of the motorbikes into me at 60kph. I came off the bike and the first motorbike lost control. I held onto my bike, however the
second motorbike then dragged me and the bike along the floor for another 100 metres.
“After this, they pulled out a 15-inch machete, at which point I thought better and let the bike go. I’m pretty cut up and bruised, with a swollen hip, but tomorrow is another day.”
Richardson, who is racing in France this weekend, said he hoped to raise awareness of the problem. “Please be careful in the area and note this is becoming a common occurrence in parts of London.”