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Philippe Gilbert's agent says mechanical doping pre-dates 2010

Vincent Wathelet calls for non-essential bike changes to be banned

The agent of former world champion Philippe Gilbert and Milan-San Remo winner Arnaud Démare claims that electric motors have been used in the peloton for much longer than 2010, the year rumours began about them following Fabian Cancellara’s emphatic wins at the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix. He has also called for non-essential bike changes during races to be banned.

Vincent Wathelet, who also produces TV coverage of cyclo-cross races, says he has raised concerns on several occasions with the UCI and others, and believes the governing body’s scanning technology is incapable of detecting the latest generation of motors.

His comments follow the results of an investigation by the French TV show Stade 2, working alongside Italian newspaper La Corriere della Sera, being broadcast on Sunday Evening.

> Hidden motors used at Strade Bianche, claims French TV (+ video)

The segment included an interview with Hungarian engineer Stefano Varjas, whom Wathelet said “a very long time ago ... approached a rider I am close to telling him he had lost numerous races compared to his rivals since they were using motorised bikes.”

Varjas showed Stade 2 a small motor, 5cm in length, something Wathelet said he had been shown three years ago, leading to him putting together a bike furnished with banned equipment to show the UCI how it worked.

“People talk a lot about 2010, but I even have evidence that it’s been in the peloton for much longer than that,” continued Wathelet, who said that he had also had concerns about the use of concealed motors in World Cup cyclo-cross races for which he produces TV coverage.

One rider he had concerns about at such events due to the apparent ease with which they tackled climbs was Belgian under-23 rider Femke Van den Driessche.

After a bike prepared for her at the Cyclo-cross World Championships at Zolder in January was discovered to be equipped with a hidden motor, footage of the 19-year-old distancing some of the world’s top riders at last November’s Koppenbergcross gained widespread attention.

Wathelet said he had reported his concerns to Umberto Langelotti, president of the Monaco cycling federation, whom he said supported him “100 per cent” and had raised the issue at UCI meetings, helping lead to harsher sanctions being introduced by the governing body last year for what it terms “technological fraud.”

He believes that the use of electronic shifting “greatly facilitates cheating since there is already a battery and therefore power.”

But he described the UCI’s scanning technology, which has so far led to the discovery of one motor-equipped bike, as “a toy,” instead advocating the use of thermal imaging equipment similar to that deployed by Stade 2 and the Corriere della Sera in their investigation.

"Thermal imaging cameras are the only way to demonstrate that a bike really does have an abnormal source of abnormal energy,” in other words through the use of batteries.

Are €200,000 motors similar to those in satellites now being used on bikes?

He maintained that the hidden motor found in the bike prepared for Van den Driessche at the Cyclo-cross World Championships in Zolder in January was a “first generation” device costing €7,500 but new, “very sophisticated” motors cost between €50,000 and €200,000.

The latter, he explained, “are used in the aerospace industry to open the shutters of a satellite when it is launched into orbit, so you can imagine how powerful and durable these engines are. It also means these kinds of materials, which cost a lot of money, are not easily recognised by a scanner.”

Such motors, he said, could be triggered by a rider’s heart rate exceeding a certain level – 160 beats per minute was the typical threshold he gave – allowing them time to recover.

Wathelet also turned his attention to the allegation in the Stade 2 report that some riders might be using remotely activated electromagnetic technology within the carbon rim of a rear wheel to gain an illegal advantage.

"During the last Tour de France, I was shocked to find out that some teams – and not minor ones – removed wheels the moment a rider crossed the line who then, on home-trainers, [warmed down] using bicycles without wheels. This makes no sense to me.

“I’ve alerted the authorities, I’ve alerted lots of people, but sadly you always have to wait for someone to get caught in the act to get a real reaction.”

He acknowledged that it is difficult for the UCI to respond quickly, however, against the use of concealed motors, which he described as “cheating in its purest form.

 “With mechanical doping, the problem is that you need to deploy substantial resources to be able to catch riders [who are cheating],” he continued. “You have to have letters rogatory [ie formal legal authority] to dismantle a bike. It’s not very easy from a legal point of view.”

So what is Wathelet’s solution? “We have to look at performance as well as physical parameters,” he explained. “When you see an incredible cadence on a high altitude climb coupled with a low heartbeat, in my opinion, it’s clear that cheating is going on.

“It’s a rule of three – the heartbeat, the cadence, and the gradient. But as I’ve said, that’s not enough. In this case, we also need the full machinery of the law to be deployed so the bike is seized, that spare bikes be seized too, that there is no possibility of mechanics getting close to the bikes.

Call to ban non-essential bike changes

Among the issues that gave rise to suspicions that Cancellara used a hidden motor in the 2010 Tour of Flanders were two bike changes during the race that did not appear to be due to a mechanical problem.

Other riders whose bike changes have attracted attention include Alberto Contador during last year’s Giro d’Italia, with Mario Cipollini saying on Italian television that a bike swap during Stage 5 to Abetone helped fuel suspicions of mechanical doping.

Later in the race, which ended with Contador taking the overall victory, another bike change before the ascent of the Mortirolo was the subject of speculation in French newspaper L’Equipe, and after Stage 18 to Verbania his bike, as well as those of other riders including stage winner Gilbert, were checked by the UCI.

While one reason for a mid-stage bike change may be due to gearing – when a tough climb comes at the end of a long, relatively flat stage, for example – Wathelet believes such practices should be banned.

“Above all in future we need to outlaw bike changes other than for serious mechanical reasons,” he said.

“I don’t think we can accept any more the continual changes of bikes during races, since afterwards one automatically thinks there has been cheating.”

> Pro riders' association wants life ban for motor dopers
> Mechanical doping: All you need to know about concealed motors
 

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

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20 comments

Avatar
urbane | 8 years ago
0 likes

Some thick metal structural scanning uses Gamma Radiation from Radioactive material, so no electrical power required for the radiation, just a lead box with a shutter, and a sensor or photographic sheet.

 

Avatar
McSeanface | 8 years ago
0 likes

The equipment would cost a few tens of thousands of pounds, but I imagine that's relatively small change to an organisation like the UCI.

The equipment could easily be housed in a van / truck, and radiation protection is easily achievable. The equipment used in hospitals isn't really suitable as it's only powerful enough to penetrate skin and bone. The kind of thing they have in airports is closer to what's required - and they have built in radiation protection.

By way of example : http://theradavist.com/2016/03/paul-perrets-x-ray-prints/

Avatar
surly_by_name | 8 years ago
0 likes

"some teams – and not minor ones – removed wheels the moment a rider crossed the line who then, on home-trainers, [warmed down] using bicycles without wheels. This makes no sense to me"

Makes no sense to me either. Can't imagine a bicycle without wheels is particularly easy to use on a home trainer (even a Wahoo kickr/Elite Muin needs a front wheel).  This bloke strikes me as eminently unqualified to have an opinion worth publishing on the subject of motors in bicycles.

Avatar
Martyn_K | 8 years ago
1 like

X-Ray machines are expensive. Maybe our mate Lance could make a donation towards the  purchase of one??

Avatar
DaveE128 | 8 years ago
1 like

I find the guy unconvincing. Sounds like a bit of a conspiracy theorist - why is a team using their sponsor's latest direct drive trainer for warm-down suspicious in any way?

I also find the rim claims and €200k satellite motor claims unpersuasive. However I would agree that with the right motor technology, magnetic scanning will be useless. I agree that x-ray is the way forward. There are definitely portable x-ray machines out there that are suitable. The UCI needs to get serious on this quickly. Preferably without warning the teams so they actually catch some cheats. The current tablet thing is a toy.

Avatar
Mungecrundle | 8 years ago
1 like

Ban non essential bike changes?

What could be more essential than the battery going flat?

Avatar
Grizzerly | 8 years ago
0 likes

Hmm.  Given that shutters on satellites operate in a vacuum in zero gravity,  the resistances involved are minimal.   I would imagine the motors used to operate them would require minimal power and durability. 

Avatar
McSeanface | 8 years ago
4 likes

There is a really simple solution to this, and I find it strange no one is talking about it in any of the articles I've read :

X-Ray the bikes!

Its easy, relatively cheap, wouldn't require dismantling the bikes and will give a far more definitive answer than magnetic field detection or heat cameras - you'd be able to see the motor if it was there.

Seems obvious to me, but then I take x-rays for a living.

Avatar
hawkinspeter replied to McSeanface | 8 years ago
0 likes

McSeanface wrote:

There is a really simple solution to this, and I find it strange no one is talking about it in any of the articles I've read : X-Ray the bikes! Its easy, relatively cheap, wouldn't require dismantling the bikes and will give a far more definitive answer than magnetic field detection or heat cameras - you'd be able to see the motor if it was there. Seems obvious to me, but then I take x-rays for a living.

Presumably you'd have to use a portable x-ray device to do that. Would there be a problem with safely shielding that? (I'm not sure I'd want to be the one x-raying hundreds of bikes)

Avatar
earth replied to hawkinspeter | 8 years ago
0 likes

hawkinspeter wrote:

McSeanface wrote:

There is a really simple solution to this, and I find it strange no one is talking about it in any of the articles I've read : X-Ray the bikes! Its easy, relatively cheap, wouldn't require dismantling the bikes and will give a far more definitive answer than magnetic field detection or heat cameras - you'd be able to see the motor if it was there. Seems obvious to me, but then I take x-rays for a living.

Presumably you'd have to use a portable x-ray device to do that. Would there be a problem with safely shielding that? (I'm not sure I'd want to be the one x-raying hundreds of bikes)

 

Airports have x-ray machines.  Could one be put into an articulated lorry maybe?

 

With biological doping tests can be developed years after a urine sample has been taken and show positive.  With mechanical doping, if the motor is removed after a race no one can tell it was ever there. 

Avatar
hawkinspeter replied to earth | 8 years ago
3 likes

earth wrote:

hawkinspeter wrote:

McSeanface wrote:

There is a really simple solution to this, and I find it strange no one is talking about it in any of the articles I've read : X-Ray the bikes! Its easy, relatively cheap, wouldn't require dismantling the bikes and will give a far more definitive answer than magnetic field detection or heat cameras - you'd be able to see the motor if it was there. Seems obvious to me, but then I take x-rays for a living.

Presumably you'd have to use a portable x-ray device to do that. Would there be a problem with safely shielding that? (I'm not sure I'd want to be the one x-raying hundreds of bikes)

 

Airports have x-ray machines.  Could one be put into an articulated lorry maybe?

 

With biological doping tests can be developed years after a urine sample has been taken and show positive.  With mechanical doping, if the motor is removed after a race no one can tell it was ever there. 

I fail to see how you fit an airport into an articulated lorry.

How about all future races have to start and finish at an airport? It could start a new event where the competitors have to rush out of the plane and try to be the first one at the luggage roundabouts. As soon as they've cleared customs they can start the bike race.

Avatar
imaca replied to hawkinspeter | 8 years ago
0 likes

hawkinspeter wrote:

earth wrote:

hawkinspeter wrote:

McSeanface wrote:

There is a really simple solution to this, and I find it strange no one is talking about it in any of the articles I've read : X-Ray the bikes! Its easy, relatively cheap, wouldn't require dismantling the bikes and will give a far more definitive answer than magnetic field detection or heat cameras - you'd be able to see the motor if it was there. Seems obvious to me, but then I take x-rays for a living.

Presumably you'd have to use a portable x-ray device to do that. Would there be a problem with safely shielding that? (I'm not sure I'd want to be the one x-raying hundreds of bikes)

 

Airports have x-ray machines.  Could one be put into an articulated lorry maybe?

 

With biological doping tests can be developed years after a urine sample has been taken and show positive.  With mechanical doping, if the motor is removed after a race no one can tell it was ever there. 

I fail to see how you fit an airport into an articulated lorry.

How about all future races have to start and finish at an airport? It could start a new event where the competitors have to rush out of the plane and try to be the first one at the luggage roundabouts. As soon as they've cleared customs they can start the bike race.

or you could use this:

http://www.minxray.com/products/custom-global-health

 

Avatar
CycloTron07 replied to hawkinspeter | 8 years ago
0 likes

hawkinspeter wrote:

earth wrote:

hawkinspeter wrote:

McSeanface wrote:

There is a really simple solution to this, and I find it strange no one is talking about it in any of the articles I've read : X-Ray the bikes! Its easy, relatively cheap, wouldn't require dismantling the bikes and will give a far more definitive answer than magnetic field detection or heat cameras - you'd be able to see the motor if it was there. Seems obvious to me, but then I take x-rays for a living.

Presumably you'd have to use a portable x-ray device to do that. Would there be a problem with safely shielding that? (I'm not sure I'd want to be the one x-raying hundreds of bikes)

 

Airports have x-ray machines.  Could one be put into an articulated lorry maybe?

 

With biological doping tests can be developed years after a urine sample has been taken and show positive.  With mechanical doping, if the motor is removed after a race no one can tell it was ever there. 

I fail to see how you fit an airport into an articulated lorry.

How about all future races have to start and finish at an airport? It could start a new event where the competitors have to rush out of the plane and try to be the first one at the luggage roundabouts. As soon as they've cleared customs they can start the bike race.

 

Now you're just being ridiculous.  It doesn't take an entire airport to sustain the functioning of an X-ray machine.  Those machines could easily fit into a semi-trailer and be used in exactly the same way as they're used in the airport - just put the bikes on a conveyor belt and away you go...

Avatar
DaveE128 replied to CycloTron07 | 8 years ago
4 likes
CycloTron07 wrote:

Now you're just being ridiculous.

I would have called that humour...  3

Avatar
nniff | 8 years ago
1 like

Just had an even more entertaining thought - link the thing to other riders' heart rates - when they begin to go into the red, off you go like a rocket and they blow up.

Avatar
Gus T | 8 years ago
0 likes

You can't beat an honest Agent taking the chance to talk down other riders, that's presuming you can find an honest Agent.

Avatar
Grizzerly | 8 years ago
0 likes

Hmm.  Given that shutters on satellites operate in a vacuum in zero gravity,  the resistances involved are minimal.   I would imagine the motors used to operate them would require minimal power and durability. 

Avatar
Grizzerly | 8 years ago
0 likes

Hmm.  Given that shutters on satellites operate in a vacuum in zero gravity,  the resistances involved are minimal.   I would imagine the motors used to operate them would require minimal power and durability. 

Avatar
700c | 8 years ago
0 likes

But diesel motors ok for his riders if you can grab on to one in the closing stages of a monument?  3

Avatar
nniff | 8 years ago
0 likes

It is vaguely conceivable that if the thing was linked to a rider's heartrate that he need not know it's there - he starts to go into the red and it begins to take the strain off ('Ya/Si/Oui, it felt hard at the start today, but then my legs began to feel good on the climbs.......I am very happy that I was able to........)

 

 

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