“Where there’s money to be gained, there’ll be the odd dickhead who cheats but cycling is miles ahead of other sports when it comes to testing” – Mark Cavendish
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Yes I’ve said “mechanical doping” is in a different moral category to normal doping that it was very unlikely.
Yes, I’ve said it would be extremely hard to get away with that no one would be dumb enough to do it.
Someone did it. At Cyclocross World’s in Zolder Belgium no less. Jeez. Sky News:
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A concealed motor has been discovered during the examination of a bike used by a Belgian cyclist at the world cyclo-cross championships.
The bike was seized by cycling authorities after Femke Van den Driessche, 19, was forced to pull out of the women’s under-23 race due to a mechanical problem.
“It’s absolutely clear that there was technological fraud. There was a concealed motor. I don’t think there are any secrets about that,” said International Cycling Union (UCI) president Brian Cookson.
http://news.sky.com/story/1633189/hidden-motor-found-in-cyclists-race-bike
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Cycling.tips has more on the story:
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Meanwhile Van den Driessche’s father has, predictably, insisted upon her innocence.
“It’s not Femke’s bike,” he claimed to De Staandard. “The bike was in the pit but it is [belonging to] someone from her entourage, who sometimes trains with her. But it was never the intention that it would be raced.
“Femke has absolutely not used that bike during the race. We are strongly affected by the events. Femke is totally upside down about it.
“We also do not know what ‘technical fraud’ means. But if the intention was to cheat, you would ride that bike, wouldn’t you?
“Femke has been European and Belgian Champion. Why would you do in the world championships?”
His words will likely be viewed with some scepticism, as her brother is currently serving a ban for EPO.
http://cyclingtips.com/2016/01/more-details-emerge-about-motorized-doping-at-cyclo-cross-worlds/
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The story, of course, was picked up around by media around the world, as cycling’s sordid reputation plunges lower.
You might be surprised to learn that the minimum sentence for technological cheating is a pathetic 6 months. Yes, you can cheat, get a slap on the wrist and keep racing the same season. How it can be anything less than a lifetime ban is beyond me. And, criminal charges should be brought for fraud.
In a recent development in the story, the Italian manufacturer of Van Den Driessche’s bike, Wilier Triestina, plans to sue her for the damage she’s done to their reputation.
Good.
“Wilier Triestina says it will sue the Belgian cyclist who used a motor on her bike at the cyclo-cross world championships in the latest scandal to rock the sport.
Managing director Andrea Gastaldello said he was ‘stunned’ by the news that Femke Van den Driessche competed in the under-23 race over the weekend with a concealed motor in her Wilier Triestina bike.
‘Our company will take legal action against the athlete and against any (person) responsible for this very serious matter to safeguard the reputation and image of the company,’ the executive wrote in a statement.”
http://espn.go.com/olympics/cycling/story/_/id/14689297/femke-van-den-driessche-caught-using-motor-sued-bike-manufacturer
BTW, Britain’s Evie Richards won the race… but no one seems to care about that right now.
