It's always particularly annoying to learn about mountain bikes being stolen and, in what looks very much like a targeted and planned robbery, the Frameworks Racing downhill team have been the latest victim of bike theft.
After the highs of a victorious weekend racing at the opening round of the UCI Downhill World Cup in Fort William, Neko Mulally and his Frameworks Racing teammates Angel Suarez Alonso and teenage sensation Asa Vermette have been brought crashing back down to earth. Their team van with their race bikes, e-MTBs and team kit were stolen from their overnight hotel in Milton Keynes.
The bikes that vanished included Asa Vermette's weekend-winning rig. Asa has just won his first Junior Downhill World Cup in Fort William in terrific style, taking the top spot on the podium by an impressive six seconds, only to have the bike, that will no doubt mean so much to him stolen.
Neko has posted on Instagram to ask people to look out for what are pretty unique bikes, especially the custom downhill race machines, and pointed out how this theft will affect a small race team with limited resources. You would imagine they'll be pretty hard to shift or for anyone to use one, without it being instantly noticeable to most people in the mountain bike community.
The incident does highlight the need for anyone traveling with bikes to always be vigilant, and we'd say don't take the chance of leaving bikes overnight in vehicles, most hotels are pretty open to taking bikes into rooms and best to do so, and avoid the grief and stress of stolen bikes.
The bikes and gear stolen are listed below:
- Three Frameworks DH race bikes
- One Specialized S-Works Levo complete bike
- Two Specialized S-Works Levo frames
- One Specialized S-Works Kenevo complete bike
- Two pro tool boxes
- Custom helmets and gear
If anyone sees these bikes appear on selling pages online or anywhere else then please reach out to the guys at Frameworks Racing at info@rideframeworks.com or contact police directly.
