British pro Alexandar Richardson has posted about a shocking incident that took place in London's Richmond Park on Thursday afternoon, when he was attacked and had his bike stolen by a knife-wielding gang.
The Alpecin-Fenix rider said he was just finishing his training at the park, a popular riding destination for cyclists in the capital, at around 3pm when he became aware of two mopeds following behind him. Richardson says four men on the mopeds were wearing balaclavas and that he "knew exactly they wanted to take my bike" and that he then attempted to get away as fast as possible towards a cafe in the park.
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"They simply rode one of the motor bikes into me at 60kph," Richardson said in a post on Instagram.
"I came off the bike and the first motor bike lost control. I held onto my bike however the second motor bike then dragged me and the bike along the floor for another 100 metres."
The 31-year-old posted a picture of his injuries, which include cuts, bruises and a swollen hip. He said he let go of his bike when one of the assailants "pulled out a 15 inch machete."
"At which point I thought better and let the bike go," Richardson added.
He said that police were called and he was collected by his wife from the park after being stranded without his S-Works Tarmac SL7 bike, which is his personal bike.
"Please be careful in the area and note this is becoming a common occurrence in parts of London. The police have taken their notes down as armed robbery and hopefully the criminals are found. Please raise awareness."
The Royal Parks Police said it will be investigating the incident and patrols around the park will continue.
London-based pro Richardson is currently finishing his second season with UCI Pro Team Alpecin-Fenix, having previously raced at Continental level with Canyon dhb in 2019. His last appearance was at this week's Binche-Chimay-Binche one-day race, having taken part in the WorldTour Eschborn-Frankfurt and the Tour of Britain in September.
