She did have a powered bike at the venue but wasn't using it in the event. The fact that she had that bike there makes it impossible for her to defend herself, it was foolish of course.
However, I'm sure the accusation is nonsense and it's the second time it's been made against a rider. The facts are these:
These motors are noisy enough to instantly reveal themselves if used.
The battery in the seat tube is too tiny to make any real contribution to what a powerful rider can do, and the circa 100 watts of maximum power would be largely offset by the added weight.
They are too easy to detect, all one has to do is use the seat stem quick release to expose the frame's seat tube battery inside. In addition, the cut-off short saddle stem to make space for motor and battery immediately gives the game away.
Another way to detect is just to turn the rear wheel backwards, that immediately means turning the motor in reverse, which with this bevel drive system is very difficult due to the amount of drag, That drag immediately shows it's not a normal bike transmission, so scrutineering isn't a problem.
It was inevitable that the invention of such a motor system would inspire conspiracy theorists to grab what looked like an opportunity. If they had the faintest idea of the facts they might not come out with such nonsense.
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