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Brailsford blasts Froome motor doping question

“If someone is stupid enough to come here with a motor in their bike, for sure they will get caught”

How times have changed. No longer is the first rest day an opportunity to question Chris Froome about pharmaceuticals. These days the hot topic is motor doping.

In previous years, Froome’s dominance on early mountain stages has usually elicited at least one question about doping during Team Sky’s rest day press conference. This year, the fact that he has not yet put significant time into his rivals somehow gave rise to something similar – a suggestion that extra bike checks have somehow had an influence.

The Sun reports that Sir Dave Brailsford was greatly unimpressed.

“If someone is stupid enough to come here with a motor in their bike for sure they will get caught. Chris’s bike has been tested more than everyone else’s, we get tested every day. We actually had an email from the UCI saying thank you for being the most co-operative team out of everybody when it comes to bike checks and mechanical checking.”

Brailsford made it perfectly clear that he does not believe motor doping is likely to be a problem at the Tour de France.

“Finding an engine in a bike is a pretty simple thing to do in this day and age. The technology used to beam the television pictures up to the satellite is a lot more complex, and used on a day-to-day basis, than finding a bloody motor in a bike.”

All our mechanical doping coverage

Despite his firm hint that a Colombian fan keep his distance during stage eight, Froome said that he hadn’t experienced the same issues with roadside crowds as he has in previous years.

"The atmosphere out on the road has been fantastic and the crowds have been great," he said. "None of that silly nonsense we had last year at all so far – and I hope it stays that way."

Eurosport reports how Brailsford also feels that his team leader is handling himself differently these days when it comes to the extra scrutiny that goes hand-in-hand with leading the world’s biggest bikerace.

"Chris has matured a lot since he first competed for the Tour de France. He's a lot more comfortable with you guys [the press], he's more comfortable with himself. He's really matured. He's enjoying his racing as much as anybody. He's not lost anything performance-wise but he's just relaxed and got comfortable with everything that goes with it."

Froome’s next major engagement is likely to take place on the slopes of Mont Ventoux and the Kenyan-born Briton admitted to harbouring mixed feelings about the prospect after winning there in 2013.

"Ventoux was kind to me, but when I got to the top last time I had to get straight on to oxygen support I was so tired. It's a massive climb, one of the most iconic of this race and to win up there again would be unreal.

"But it's going to be pretty hard knowing there's a time trial the next day. It will be interesting to see who is going to go that deep for victory up there."

Alex has written for more cricket publications than the rest of the road.cc team combined. Despite the apparent evidence of this picture, he doesn't especially like cake.

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11 comments

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Thelma Viaduct | 7 years ago
0 likes

It's a shame Team Sky are associated with Murdoch, he's about as scum as scum gets.

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Simon E replied to Thelma Viaduct | 7 years ago
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Thelma Viaduct wrote:

It's a shame Team Sky are associated with Murdoch, he's about as scum as scum gets.

It's the same for anyone who works for any of Murdoch's companies but unfortunately they all need jobs. I'm sure some of the team may privately prefer not to be associated with him.

All big companies that sponsor sports teams or events are pretty unethical and exist solely to make lots of money. It's why they're big companies. They do it to make more money and improve their image, not for wholesome reasons or "putting something back" or supporting it for personal reasons.

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bikeandy61 | 7 years ago
1 like

God even I'm not that cynical. And I dislike Murdoch as much as any right thinking person.

I doubt even the wild card teams would be desperate enough to try motor doping at the Tour. As much as I'm aa little wary of what thermal imaging reveals did you not see Froome being checked a he rode?

I guess there is far more chance of Sky using PEDs than motors. Find a motor and you're buggered. There's no B sample test, I had a steak imported from Mexico, a skin full of alcohol to cloud the issue.

And as the Belgian CX rider who was caught has shown - you don't even have to be riding a motorised bike. If one is found anywhere amongst your kit, you're screwed.

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esayers | 7 years ago
7 likes

I heard Chris Froome gets pulled up the mountains using a giant magnet placed in geostationary orbit!

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handlebarcam replied to esayers | 7 years ago
2 likes

esayers wrote:

I heard Chris Froome gets pulled up the mountains using a giant magnet placed in geostationary orbit!

Sorry, you heard wrong. He is, in fact, towed up by a team of unladen swallows attached by strands of creeper held under the dorsal guiding feathers.

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brakesmadly replied to esayers | 7 years ago
2 likes

esayers wrote:

I heard Chris Froome gets pulled up the mountains using a giant magnet placed in geostationary orbit!

 

Andpresumably that those pesky Sky mechanics have built him a steel-framed Pinarello cunningly disguised as carbon !

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Butty replied to brakesmadly | 7 years ago
1 like

mbrads72 wrote:

esayers wrote:

I heard Chris Froome gets pulled up the mountains using a giant magnet placed in geostationary orbit!

 

Andpresumably that those pesky Sky mechanics have built him a steel-framed Pinarello cunningly disguised as carbon !

Not quite. He has a helmet made of steel.

Hence his ungainly riding style which looks like he is holding on for grim death, to stop him being lifted completely off the bike.

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tritecommentbot | 7 years ago
0 likes

To be fair.. pretty damn hard to hide a motor in a bike frame. Micro doping the riders is safer bet. 

 

That said, I don't want to be a mug.. we're going by the UCI's word that they do have proper testing methods and are thoroughly testing the bikes. If the mechanics know the windows, then they have free reign. Same as how dopers get away with it - they simply use the window and if they mess up, or just randomly pulled, they simply make themselves unavailable for testing.

 

I'll remain cynical, but I'd guess there is a chance motor doping happens or has been experimented with at a high level.

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fenix replied to tritecommentbot | 7 years ago
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unconstituted wrote:

I'll remain cynical, but I'd guess there is a chance motor doping happens or has been experimented with at a high level.

 

there is no way that a bike with a motor has ever been in the tour. Any rider/team found with it would be instantly ruined. The bikes are on show to the public during the race - journalists and other riders too.  You can't keep a secret like that.

 

With doping - you have to be caught with the syringe in your hand to get the equivalent proof. And when was the last time that happened ? 

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Hipshot | 7 years ago
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It's a totally valid question to put to a team like SKY.  Other Rupert Murdoch backed organisations haven't been in the least bit squeamish about breaking the law in the past and motor doping doesn't even break the law.

Perhaps he doth protest too much.

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Chuck replied to Hipshot | 7 years ago
3 likes

Hipshot wrote:

Other Rupert Murdoch backed organisations haven't been in the least bit squeamish about breaking the law in the past and motor doping doesn't even break the law.

 

I think he's answered the question he was asked pretty reasonably?

 

Anyway, being prepared to cheat is one thing, actually trying to get away with a motorized bike is another. I just can't see that any of the teams would try it, because surely you'd be virtually guaranteed to be found out. It's a different game to doping in terms of the cat and mouse stuff IMO.

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