Belgium’s Cyclo-Cross World Championship also staged the first official case of high-level ‘mechanical doping’ at the weekend.
International Cycling Union president (UCI), Brian Cookson, confirmed “technological fraud” had taken place with the bike belonging to 19-year-old Belgian – and pre-race U23 favourite – Femke Van den Driessche, being seized by the UCI as a result.
“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 Cookson at a press conference.
Van den Driessche was initially forced to pull out of the race with a mechanical problem, but was then detained by the UCI for further investigation.
Maarten Vangramberen, a Sporza journalist, reportedly said: “After one lap of the world championships, UCI took Femke’s bike in the pit area and tested it with some sort of tablet. When the saddle was removed, there were electrical cables in the seat tube. When they wanted to remove the bottom bracket, which is normally not difficult, they could not because the crank was stuck. Inside there was a motor.”
Van den Driessche maintains she was not aware of the hidden motor, saying: “The bike was not mine. I would never cheat. It was my friend’s and was identical to mine. This friend went around the course Saturday before dropping off the bike in the truck. A mechanic, thinking it was my bike, cleaned it and prepared it for my race.”
A disciplinary commission will now probe into the circumstances leading up to the discovery of the motor.
The Under 23 race was won by British rider Evie Richards.
When questioned on how the professional cycling authority can keep pace with technological advances at races, the UCI told Pedelecs: “The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) has taken the issue of technological fraud extremely seriously for many years. It has been clear for some time that the equipment exists to enable people determined to cheat to do so by installing devices hidden in bikes. That is why we’ve invested considerable time and financial resources in organising unannounced tests at races and have recently been trialling new methods of detection. We’ve also been using intelligence gathered from the industry and other information given to us. We tested over 100 bikes at the 2016 UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships in Heusden-Zolder and will continue to test large numbers of bikes at races throughout the season.”
