CCTV shows thieves breaking in at about 1.30am and taking the entire fleet of bikes. A racing wheelchair owned by a Paralympian and valued at about €6,500 was also taken.
One of Ireland’s biggest and best known cycling facilities has had its entire fleet of bikes stolen in what appears to have been and organised raid.
And to compound the awful news, a very specialist racing wheelchair own by a Paralympics-bound athlete was also taken.
It was valued at £5,000, and now John Smith is in a race against time to get a replacement before the Games.
The theft occurred in the early hours of Tuesday morning at the Rostrevor Mountain Bike Centre.
It will be very well known to most in the cycling community and offers great trails close to the Mournes.
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The theft was uncovered when staff arrived and realised what had happened overnight.
And when the CCTV recordings were viewed, they showed a number of people – believed to be four – breaking into the centre at about 1.30am.
Not content with quickly grabbing what they could and fleeing, the thieves were careful to take all 20 bikes in the centre and lifted the specialist wheelchair from a van on the premises.
According to local reports – including in the Belfast Live news site – the bikes that were stolen include Nukeproof Scouts and Trek 8.5s and 4300s.
Ian Cumming is a director at the centre and said everyone was “floored, deflated, demoralised” about what had happened. He described the thieves as “organised”.
“At the mouth of the season, this can only be described as devastating for this small business,” he said.
“Our fleet has been meticulously maintained, with none of the original components and they are numbered on specific locations on their frames.
“We only hope that someone out there has some information to help us to find our fleet.”
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