Cyclists ‘shocked, saddened and angry’ after £26,000 worth of bikes stolen from cycling festival

A cyclist has hit out at “disgusting” bike thieves who targeted the recent Enve Stone Circle gravel cycling event in Salisbury, stealing at least eight bikes with a combined value of £26,000.

The bikes, which were secured to racks in the event village at the English Heritage site of Old Sarum, were transported between the finish of the popular gravel-focused sportive on the evening of Saturday 29 June and the following morning when event participants left the campsite.

The Enve Stone Circle, first held in 2023, is a weekend festival of gravel cycling, comprising a hill climb event, a ‘Festival Fort’ event village at Old Sarum which included on-site camping, a DJ, food and drink, and three route options ranging from 55km to 220km and taking in some of Wiltshire’s best gravel roads and off-road tracks.

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However, eight unfortunate participants left the event at the worst possible time, after thieves cut the locks from their bikes, which were all parked in the same area of ​​the campsite.

The stolen bikes included two Giant Revolt Advanced 1 gravel bikes, two Basso Paltas (one red and one yellow/green), an orange Forme trail bike, a grey Cannondale Topstone 2 Lefty, a Canyon Grizl CF SL and a Nukeproof Digger. The combined value of the stolen bikes is estimated at around £26,000.

Speaking to the Salisbury Journal, Dean White, one of the cyclists affected by the targeted and shocking theft, said: “I was shocked, saddened and angry in a short space of time to experience something like this and see how disgusting people can be and rob people of their pride and joy.

“I feel lost without the bike because it is a part of me. It is quite alarming to see how common this phenomenon has become throughout the country and it is something that is not talked about enough.”

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He continued: “I would like to encourage all cyclists to be particularly vigilant in looking after their bikes and keeping them safe, no matter how secure they are.

“When something like this happens, it’s organized and people are willing to grab whatever they can at any cost and sometimes by any means necessary.”

In an appeal for information regarding the thefts, a Wiltshire Police spokesperson said: “If you have witnessed anything suspicious or have any information please contact us on 101 quoting reference 54240076610.

“If you have also been a victim of bike theft, please report it via 101 or on our website.”

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As Dean noted, the number of bike thefts in the UK has increased at an alarming rate in recent years, and while bikes locked to racks in public remain one of the most common targets, we have also seen an increasing number of cases of thieves operating in an increasingly targeted and pre-planned manner to secure high-value bikes in shops or at cycle events and races.

Last month, a Sussex bike shop owner slammed what he called “abject apathy” from police after three shops and a home were broken into in one night in a spate of bike thefts.

At least 17 bikes and other items were stolen during the series of raids, with six hooded men spotted breaking into the Giant store in Shoreham, stealing 14 high-end electric mountain bikes.

And earlier in June, ahead of stage two of the revamped Women’s Tour of Britain in Wrexham, British team Lifeplus Wahoo announced on social media that thieves had targeted their base at a hotel in Shropshire, raiding their mechanic’s van and stealing the team’s entire range of Ribble bikes.

In response to the team’s shocking misfortune, several teams competing in the race acted quickly and loaned the Lifeplus Wahoo riders their spare bikes and equipment, meaning the team was able to continue competing in the race.

According to Home Office figures, more than 365,000 reported bike thefts have gone unsolved since 2019, with the Liberal Democrats warning in January that the crime had been effectively “decriminalised”.