“Copycat” moped mugger kicks cyclist into fence, threatens to stab him, and steals bike in yet another violent bikejacking

A cyclist’s bike was stolen during yet another violent robbery involving a moped mugger in Regent’s Park, which saw the cyclist kicked into a fence by a Vespa rider, who then repeatedly threatened to stab him before fleeing with his bike.

The shocking attack took place at 5.55am on Friday near Cumberland Terrace, on the eastern side of the London park, as the male cyclist was riding alone on his way to meet a friend at Physician’s Corner.

According to a member of the Regent’s Park Rouleurs – a club who have themselves fallen victim to the spate of violent bikejackings plaguing the park and its surrounding area in recent months – the cyclist was just south of the Danish Church when he became aware of a moped rider who had pulled up alongside him.

Unlike other similar attacks, where cyclists have been approached by two men on mopeds, the driver, who was riding what has been described as a Vespa-type vehicle, was also alone.

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The moped rider then allegedly kicked the cyclist, causing him to crash into the kerb and some nearby metal fencing. The attacker then approached the stricken rider and, according to the account provided to road.cc, “repeatedly” threatened to stab him.

The thief then took the bike, a black Cinelli (pictured above), before fleeing towards Great Portland Street. The victim was left with grazes, cuts, and bruises following the attack, but was not seriously hurt. The Metropolitan Police have told road.cc that they are currently investigating the incident.

> “Give me your bike or I will stab”: 13-year-old boy threatened with machete during shocking bike theft

The latest bikejacking attack comes just months after the Regent’s Park Rouleurs cycling club was targeted on three occasions in quick succession by aggressive moped-riding muggers, while another cyclist was attacked by thieves in the park itself.

One of those incidents took place in October as members of the club were stopped at traffic lights on a busy road in High Barnet. According to one of the Regent’s Park Rouleurs riders, the two moped-riding thieves pulled up alongside them and “screamed in our faces ‘Right, get off your f***ing bikes now you c***s’ over and over, and getting increasingly aggressive”. After forcing the cyclists to hand over the bikes, the muggers then fled the scene.

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Comparing Friday’s incident in Regent’s Park with the earlier attacks, fellow Regent’s Park Rouleurs member James told road.cc: “This sounds like a different attacker. Copycats. All others have been two men on a moped.

“This one was also silly enough to ride off towards a lot of CCTV. The Royal Parks police are trying to see if he was picked up on them.

Most of the other attacks have been in either Barnet or Archway. This is the second one in the park itself that we know about.

“I saw a moped pillion carrying a road bike near Prebend Street [om Islington] the other night, but I’ve heard of no muggings around here recently and suspect they were the more usual lock cutters targeting bike parking around CS1.”

Friday’s bikejacking in Regent’s Park – and the recent targeted attacks in the surrounding area – underline the increasing threat posed by violent thieves towards cyclists, as reports of people on bikes being mugged have become depressingly common across the UK in recent years.

> Shocking footage shows masked men attempting to steal cyclist’s bike after forcing him off the road with SUV

In October, a cyclist was assaulted by two masked men in broad daylight who attempted – and ultimately failed – to steal his bike after forcing him off the road with a SUV in what appeared to be a targeted bikejacking attack in Worcestershire.

The cyclist was reportedly followed for around four miles by the SUV driver, before being cornered in a driveway, with only the intervention of the house’s owner and a passing motorist forcing the thieves to leave without the bike.

In August, a Kent cyclist raised the alarm about bikejackings in the area, sharing video footage of two moped-riding attackers forcing him off the road in a frightening incident on a busy road.

Peter Roper sent road.cc the video of the attempted bikejacking which happened on the A25 in Brasted, while he was riding his Trek e-bike. The cyclist said he saw a moped pass in the opposite direction, shortly before the rider and passenger pulled alongside to threaten him with a knife and push him off the road.

Fortunately, Peter was able to mount the pavement due to the dropped kerb, ending the attack.

In the most high-profile bikejacking incident in recent years, in autumn 2021 professional cyclist Alexandar Richardson was knocked off his bike, dragged for 100 metres by muggers on motorbikes, and threatened with a machete during a shocking attack, this time in Richmond Park.

In April, a teenager, aged 15 when Richardson was attacked, was jailed for 12 months for the bikejacking.

Another professional cyclist, former Scottish champion Jennifer George, said last year that she no longer rides alone after she was similarly attacked by two people on a motorbike during a long ride from her home in southeast London out to Surrey.

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Last summer, a member of Penge Cycling Club narrowly escaped a robbery attempt near West Wickham, around five miles west of Orpington, during which the rider was told he would be stabbed if he did not give up his 2022 Specialized S-Works Tarmac SL7.

Another incident saw a Trek Domane SL6 and Wilier GTR forcefully taken by a group, described as “youths on mopeds” by one victim and “four males on mopeds” by the other.

Duncan Dollimore, head of campaigns at Cycling UK, said he believes criminals – such as the ones who targeted the cyclist in Regent’s Park on Friday – are attracted towards stealing high-end bikes because the potential money to be made from selling them on far outweighs the chances of getting caught.

“It is possibly perceived as a low-risk crime if the numbers of people being caught are so low,” he explained. “It may be seen as a high-reward, low-risk crime.

“Somebody has posted on Strava what they are doing on their ride. The criminals will know it is someone on a £3,000 to £4,000 carbon fibre bike who has unwittingly signposted the fact that they are likely to be heading out to Kent or the Surrey Hills. It is on the police’s radar.”