Police are appealing for information about the rider of a bike stolen during the RideLondon FreeCycle event on Saturday, August 3 that subsequently turned up in official event photos.
The green Trek Madone 4.9 was stolen from Green Park near Constitution Hill, SW1 at 1pm while the FreeCycle ride was underway.
Its owner, a 42-year-old man, was about to take part in the ride and had locked his bike, but the thief or thieves cut the lock. When he found his bike missing, he told officers from the Met’s Cycle Task Force who were attending the event.
Browsing through official photos from the ride, he put in his ride number, and up popped an image of the bike being ridden along the Mall, with said number still attached.
Police investigating the theft would like to trace the male in the photograph.
The suspect is described as a white man wearing a blue cycle helmet, sunglasses, a blue and white striped t-shirt, beige/grey shorts and blue and white shoes.
Police would like to speak to this man, photographed riding the missing bike.
PC Charlotte Brierley, of the Cycle Task Force, said: "The victim was about to take part in the FreeCycle event when his bicycle was stolen. The theft took place in the middle of a very busy event and we are urging people who were there who may have seen anything to come forward.
"As a result he could not take part in the event which he was looking forward to participating in."
Anyone with information is urged to contact PC Brierley who is leading the investigation for the Cycle Task Force on 07768 928456 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
An earlier pic of the missing bike.
47 thoughts on “Bike stolen at RideLondon spotted being ridden by suspect in offical event photos”
A thief that brings their own
A thief that brings their own helmet, then rides the event in full view of photographers on the route? There’s something seriously odd about this.
notfastenough wrote:A thief
Not really odd,
If you are going out planning to steal a bike from an event like the Freecycle, you need to fit into the crowd and not look out of place…
Gkam84 wrote:notfastenough
To quote Banksy, the best way to become invisible is to put on a fluorescent jacket. The thief did everything necessary to avoid being spotted. Or so he thought.
If that’s an official photo,
If that’s an official photo, why has nobody stumped up the few quid necessary to use the hi-res version?
I suspect this is a crop from
I suspect this is a crop from a different photo, which was actually of someone else…which would at least explain the reduced resolution….
Brilliant! He should have
Brilliant! He should have been arrested during the ride for wearing baggy shorts on a bike like that anyway.
I hope they catch him and
I hope they catch him and chop his theifing hands of! Or should that be his theifing feet off!
Maybe he misunderstood the
Maybe he misunderstood the meaning of ‘FreeCycle’?
But seriously this is a pretty s**t thing to happen.
I was at an event last year where the Police caught an organised gang stealing bikes; you have been warned 😐 Keep your stuff safe and your eyes open. Who would ride a bike with clip-less shoes and deck shoes? Someone must have seen that and thought that’s a bit odd….
Hopefully pushing this
Hopefully pushing this picture out in to the social media will result in someone getting their collar felt; recent police-related bicycle stories don’t inspire confidence in professional detection.
*nit-pick*
They may be SPD shoes – I have a pair of DZR shoes that are similar.
SideBurn wrote:Who would ride
Honestly I just jump on my bike wearing trainers a lot of the time on Look Keo clipless pedals. Cleats are fine for commuting and training but do you really change pedals whenever you go to the shops? I must look like a thieving Hobbit a lot of the time then.
Hope the pictures help find the bike, it is fine.
bikeboy76 wrote:SideBurn
But this was a sportive?
£2,500 bike and no cycling shoes….
Would I ride a £2,500 bike down to the shops?
And if I did and a Police officer or someone else politely asked a few questions (as reported recently on this site), would I appreciate their interest/concern?
I am not suggesting someone attacks him with a baseball bat! If he said he had forgotten his kit (or other reasonable explanation) and decided to ride anyway then good for him…
SideBurn wrote:But this was a
Nope, not the London 100. The Freecycle is the ‘bimble’ around the streets of London, kids and baggys and all.
I would if I had one. Anyone seen any Trek Madones going cheap on ebay lately?
SideBurn wrote:
But this was
I ride my trike to the shop all the time, Its worth alot more than that Trek, it has SPD pedals with platforms around them, so I often just wear trainers when only going a little distance 😉
…..I just jump on my bike
…..I just jump on my bike wearing trainers a lot of the time on Look Keo clipless pedals. Cleats are fine for commuting and training but do you really change pedals whenever you go to the shops? I must look like a thieving Hobbit a lot of the time then.
[[[[ Nope, I change bikes when I go to the shops. Mind you, I hear there is a bar-steward around who’ll filch anything with two wheels and flog it quick for a score..
P.R.
PhilRuss wrote:…..I just
Some of us don’t have two bikes.
bikeboy76 wrote:PhilRuss
Some of us don’t have two bikes.— PhilRuss
Eeeks! That’s a misquote….I NEVER cycle in trainers.
P.R.
I take offence at the
I take offence at the thieving hobbits remark. How many hobbits do you know that go around thieving. Your tarring too many of aforementioned hobbits with the same brush me thinks.
Wizards thieve more them hobbits, namely grey/white one, and the occasional brown one.
SideBurn wrote: Who would
I’ve got SPD-SLs, I often jump on my bike to go down the shops/round town with “normal” footwear. Works pretty well.
First rule of good bike owner
First rule of good bike owner ship ignored.
Never leave your pride and joy out of line of sight, and don’t trust anyone you don’t know.
If only there was a Govt.
If only there was a Govt. agency with the ability to track your face across any camera netwo…oh wait.
Not sure if this is of any
Not sure if this is of any use but his t shirt is from m and s. I have one myself…
londonplayer wrote:Not sure
And where were you 2 Saturdays ago?
Dog72 wrote:londonplayer
*badoom Tish*
londonplayer wrote:Not sure
That should narrow it down a bit…..
.
.
lovely looking bike, such a
lovely looking bike, such a shame, I hope someone recognizes him and he gets it back, all good bikes should be fitted with gps tracker h
That is one ugly bike.
That is one ugly bike.
Who’d steal a Trek AND let
Who’d steal a Trek AND let themself be photographed riding it?…
Perhaps he was signed up for
Perhaps he was signed up for the !00 the next day. I did the freecycle on a half decent bike but left it with 2 ubolt locks and a heavy duty cable lock for good measure while I popped off to EXCEL to register. Half expected it to be gone when I got back. Obviously a less desirable bike than I thought!
Too bad the thief did not
Too bad the thief did not come across these police men:
http://innercitymobility.blogspot.de/2013/06/transformation-fashion-crime.html
2.5 grand shopping bike? Come on, no one would like to be seen on such a cheap bike if he wants to go shopping in Knightsbridge. My advice: If You can not afford a 10k custom build, park at Victoria&Albert, walk over to H. 😉
Before someone starts asking I’m currently riding the Brompton to work – in a business suit. 😀
different tyres to the
different tyres to the picture at the bottom?
SammyG wrote:different tyres
The owner realised that white walls suck….replaced them and the thief liked his new treads 👿
London has a billion CCTV
London has a billion CCTV cameras, can’t they simply follow this person around? I mean, as long as we have all our public activity recorded by the government, can’t they use it for something helpful?
The fact theres a MET Police
The fact theres a MET Police Cycle Task Force is laughable! It appears theres a unit or task force for everything these days – no wonder you never see any police officers actually plodding the streets!
gb901 wrote:The fact theres a
Well that would probably be because members of the Met Police Cycle Task Force cycle the streets wouldn’t it?
You’re right, SammyG, they
You’re right, SammyG, they are different tyres! Maybe he nicked some wheels, too.
drmatthewhardy wrote:You’re
Or maybe, seeing as that is a pic taken at an earlier time, the owner changed them.
Maybe, but the police are going to struggle to take any fingerprints because the bike is missing. That’s the whole point, really.
And where’s his gloves? Must
And where’s his gloves? Must be finger prints all over the steed. :B
Very sad indeed…
Come on
Very sad indeed…
Come on Prudential you’re an insurance company. Take the Kudos and replace the bike !!!
The Prudential settled my
The Prudential settled my claim without any fuss when my BMC SLT01 was stolen from my integral garage.
Hi i think as been said above
Hi i think as been said above this is the wrong picture as yes no”whitewalls” but also head tube looks green not black as in other pic unless half and half colours?
black left side green right side?
I think the bloody great
I think the bloody great number strapped to the bars might be the biggest clue that this is the same person’s bike, looks like they’ve blurred it out for this picture.
‘Maybe, but the police are
‘Maybe, but the police are going to struggle to take any fingerprints because the bike is missing. That’s the whole point, really.’
Love it 🙂
Still has the ding ding bell
Still has the ding ding bell on it.
Two points:
From the way the
Two points:
From the way the thief is holding the hoods it looks like he knows how to ride (sadly it seems there might be thieving scumbags in our midst)
Even a locked bike cannot protect all the valuable bits on it, rims especially. A real mistake to walk away from it locked or not. Similarly I was at the TdF on Ax 3 on the very corner where Froomey made his break and it was mobbed all over the mountain like a zoo when the caravan/riders came through – it is very easy to get distracted and lose your pride and joy. Fortunately we kept all our kit together in our group with someone present at all times.
I wouldn’t leave my Susan on
I wouldn’t leave my Susan on her own, even if Bernard Hinault was giving away free punches!
I had my Cannondale Synapse
I had my Cannondale Synapse stolen at the same place and time. As I was reporting my theft he was reporting his at the same time.Still not found fine. Was the bike recovered?
I was lucky I managed to hire a bike at the last minute from British Cycle Hire, saved the day for me.