53 yr old amateur racer caught with hidden motor.

[nemesis]

Italian media reports that an amateur rider was caught with an electric motor concealed within his frame at an event

image: http://keyassets.timeincuk.net/inspirewp/live/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2016/06/UCI-bike-motor-check-10-630x420.jpg

An Italian amateur rider has reportedly been caught at an event with an electric motor concealed within his bicycle’s frame.

The 53-year-old was entered in a masters category at the event in Bedizzole, reported Italian website Tuttobici on Sunday.


The presence of the device was detected using a thermal scanner that highlights areas of high temperature in a frame – which can be a sign of a hidden motor, as they generate heat.

According to Tuttobici, the rider was invited to have his bike disassembled in order to confirm the presence of a motor or not, but he declined and left the race.

>>> ‘There has been motorised doping in the Tour de France’: US TV investigation

cyclo-cross rider Femke Van den Driessche.


Van den Driessche’s bike was discovered to contain a hidden motor at the 2016 UCI cyclo-cross World Championships. She was subsequently suspended by the UCI for six years and handed a £14,000 fine.


Prior to that, there were persistent rumours for several years that ‘motor doping’ was taking place in pro-level races, but without firm evidence. Van den Driessche’s case not only confirmed that it was possible to conceal an electric motor in a frame without any visible signs, but that they were actually being used in races.


Read more at http://www.cyclingweekly.com/news/latest-news/53-year-old-italian-amateur-cyclist-caught-motor-bike-344445#H4w7eSLjeHfi0b9l.99

 

[Peter Thornton]

Very interesting report. I'll be fascinated to find out what size and weight the battery was.
I've a feeling that a fit rider over a long hard race would get on better on a non motorised bike, unless it's one of those "races' where 95% of it is a fast tour with a short sprint at the end - when I guess the penalty for most of the 'race" would be worth it for the boost on the sprint.
Call for some enterprising magazine to put on a race between an openly electric bike and a non electric version, over a decent distance longer than the battery can manage.

 

[flecc]

Very interesting report. I'll be fascinated to find out what size and weight the battery was.

With that Austrian system both the motor and battery sit in the seat tube. The motor takes up about a third of the length, the battery then but not all the way up since there has to be some saddle stem insert length. So at most the battery is the volume of around three C cells.

The motor is claimed as 200 watts gross but gives around 100 watts net. The e-bikes we buy have some 300 to 500 watts net, so that seat tube system isn't going to do much in comparison.

Personally I think most of these reports are nonsense, drug misuse having revealed cheating, some are now looking for it everywhere.

P.S. Interestingly I see they've given up on the tiny hidden seat tube battery and now using a much bigger saddebag one. That won't be much use for anyone trying to cheat!
.

 

[chris_n]

http://www.vivax-assist.com/en/product/vivax-assist/vivax-assist_4-0.php
Less than 10km away from me in Austria.

 

[Danidl]

http://www.vivax-assist.com/en/product/vivax-assist/vivax-assist_4-0.php
Less than 10km away from me in Austria.

.. lovely engineering, lovely high price!

 

[TZC]

It's unfortunate to me that humans will always want to cheat. HEY!!!

You guys and gals shouting out that phrase when I go by up a hill - now that's cheating


Edit: nobody is obsessed with car drivers going uphill, cheating themselves along to their destination right?

I've heard that phrase so often.. and normally I don't have time to answer because I'm gone XD

Best I have managed to answer is cheating who?

But as long as I haven't made any kind of statement before the journey to the effect of - I'm going 13 miles uphill by way of pedal power only it's no difference to driving a car, people are weird XD