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Femke Van den Driessche Image CC BY 2.0 by flowizm via FlickrMechanical doping at Cyclocross Worlds confirmed
Image: Femke van den Driessche (BEL) (CC BY 2.0 by flowizm via Flickr)
A concealed motor has been found during examination of Femke Van den Driessche’s bike, during the Cyclocross World Championships, it was revealed today.
At a press conference today UCI (Union Cycliste Internationale) president, Brian Cookson, confirmed the bike the 19-year-old Belgian was riding, when she pulled out of the race with mechanical problems, was later found to contain a concealed motor.
Rumours have abounded over recent years of mechanical doping, but this is the first confirmed case in top-level competition.
UCI boss: Mechanical dopers will pay
"It's absolutely clear that there was technological fraud. There was a concealed motor. I don't think there are any secrets about that," Cookson said.
"Technological fraud is unacceptable.
"We want the minority who may consider cheating to know that, increasingly there is no place to hide, and sooner or later they will pay for the damage they’re causing to our sport."
The bike was seized on Saturday after Van den Driessche, who was competing in the under-23 race, was forced to pull out with mechanical difficulties. According to reports, when the saddle was removed electrical cables were found in the seat tube.
The allegedly motorized bike #CXzolder pic.twitter.com/W8M3z9EKr0
— José Been (@TourDeJose) January 30, 2016
Van den Driessche, who was among the favourites to win, denies knowledge of the motor, and says she has done nothing wrong.
A tearful Van den Driessche told Belgian TV channel, Sporza: “It wasn’t my bike, it was that of a friend 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,”
She says she was “totally unaware” it was fitted with a hidden motor.
“I feel really terrible. I’m aware I have a big problem.
She added: "I have no fears of an inquiry into this. I have done nothing wrong”.
If found guilty of technological fraud a rider faces a minimum six-month suspension and a fine of between 20,000 (£13,700) to 200,000 Swiss francs (180,000 Euros).
Laura Laker is a freelance journalist with more than a decade’s experience covering cycling, walking and wheeling (and other means of transport). Beginning her career with road.cc, Laura has also written for national and specialist titles of all stripes. One part of the popular Streets Ahead podcast, she sometimes appears as a talking head on TV and radio, and in real life at conferences and festivals. She is also the author of Potholes and Pavements: a Bumpy Ride on Britain’s National Cycle Network.
Latest Comments
- lesterama 13 min 59 sec ago
What a bunch of ases
- andystow 15 min 47 sec ago
Some kind of ratchet in that hub? It doesn't look like he can even push the pedal all the way to horizontal.
- GMBasix 29 min 19 sec ago
Well, naturally: I thought that was a given
- HoarseMann 49 min 19 sec ago
just a general point on SD cards... whilst you probably can get a 128GB one for a tenner, I would spend a smidge more or go for less capacity, but...
- quiff 1 hour 7 min ago
It was only your comment in the carousel that first brought me here, and yet I still managed to read most of the page before remembering this isn't...
- quiff 2 hours 35 min ago
That comparison might work in answer to the ill-considered "you can't bring your bike in, it's got dirty tyres" but not sure it's apposite here as...
- gazza_d 3 hours 13 min ago
Acts like this should be regarded as domestic terrorism, because that's what it is.
- eburtthebike 4 hours 39 min ago
The Daily Mail, Telegraph and GB News.........
- Benthic 4 hours 52 min ago
Not AB specifically, but that sort of thing. Focus Pocus is the most entertaining.
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48 comments
Just makes me want to talk to my engineering friends and see if we can work something out to win a TDF without actually pedaling a single stroke...
Remember, if I can say "my friend did it", it's actually a valid excuse right?
Well done, Belgium. At least, this puts cycling back at the top of the doping stories.
Good job everyone is so busy having an opinion that they didn't read any of the details elsewhere. The bike was 'allegedly' sold by her to her friend at the end of last season so it was a close match on components. At least close enough that her national mechanic, not her team mechanic, didn't spot the differences. The friend is differently sized (and sexed), but since she never got on the bike she wouldn't have spotted the different geometry and again the not-her-normal-mechanic apparently didn't either.
Not that any of this matters under the rules. Having the bike available is a breach of rule 12.10.013 (?) and it is a strict liability rule.
At a press conference today UCI (Union Cycliste Internationale) president, Brian Cookson, confirmed the bike the 19-year-old Belgian was riding, when she pulled out of the race with mechanical problems, was later found to contain a concealed motor. - See more at: http://road.cc/content/news/177183-mechanical-doping-cyclocross-worlds-c...
So it was the bike she actually rode - and not just her pals bike in the pits ?
And she didnt notice the bike wasn't HER race bike ? Even if her pals was similar surely it would have a different set up.
"And what's this new button here for ??....."
Whoooooooooooooooooooooshhhhh !
Wilier are now looking to sue the rider for dragging their name through the mud (no pun intended). The plot thickens...
CX'ers spend most of the race running around on foot so a motorised bike seems a bit pointless
Errrr .... no. No, they don't. Not even in a super mudder like last year's BK at Erpe Meer or 2014 Essen. In fact in some races there may be no need to dismount at all, at least for those riders who can bunny hop a 40cm board.
Hence the winking face. But well done.
Dear UCI
Pic's or it never 'appened.
That seems to have the battery in a bottle cage, so not that stealthy.
Plenty of room in the down tube though
www.nieuwsblad.be/cnt/dmf20150218_01537112
The Vivax site gives a min run time of 60 min, which you don't really need in a short CX event. You can go for a much smaller battery that is easily concealable, lighter, and still gives you 5-10 min of 200W of extra power. If the claims from Vivax is true, then that is a lot of extra power you can unleash at a critical moment in the race. IIRC Mark Cavendish claimed that his peak power in sprints is only a shade over 1600W.
Absolutely correct. There is one circuit race I do that's 12 miles in length, with a 1 mile hill. I can produce 1,000 watts for 30 seconds, but don't have the power/ weight ratio to allow me to keep up with the front runners in this particular race. But if I could access even just an extra 100 watts going up that hill, I'd be able to sprint at the end against climbers. Easy peasy.
The rest of the course is downhill or flat, so the extra 3 pounds in weight would not be an issue.
Absolutely correct. There is one circuit race I do that's 12 miles in length, with a 1 mile hill. I can produce 1,000 watts for 30 seconds, but don't have the power/ weight ratio to allow me to keep up with the front runners in this particular race. But if I could access even just an extra 100 watts going up that hill, I'd be able to sprint at the end against climbers. Easy peasy.
The rest of the course is downhill or flat, so the extra 3 pounds in weight would not be an issue.
If anyone fancies one... a few thousand Euros and you can get hold of one it would seem...
http://vivax-assist.com/en/produkte/vivax-assist-4-0/vivax-assist_4-0.php
Notice the 'Invisible Performance Package' option. They know their market.
I want one for those 'stubborn' KOM's ;0)
Almost off-the shelf Willier with all the required trappings
https://www.salden.nl/en/wilier-triestina-e-cycl-ocrosser-met-traponders...
The UCI needs to step in immediately, ban the rider, this should be treated the same as regular doping - 2 year ban minimum. They have to be complicit in this. There's no way they can use the bike without knowing this has been done.
Then the team needs to be hit really hard. This has to go right through the entire mechanical side, perhaps even to the frame manufacturer if there are substantial modifications.
A portable baggage X-ray system would spot theses easily. You could run every bike through at the end of every stage for the high profile events.
For lower profile events, fibre optic cameras would be a good start and cheap to implement.
I think I'll request one of these for my next Xmas present! Anyone know when it's expected to hit the stores?
Already available. Cyclist magazine did a feature in an issue last year. I'll sort through my back issues and let you know.
One issue is that the motor generates a lot of torque so has to be secured to a seat tube designed to take the strain. The force is in a different plane to that for which a seat tube is designed.
To poster above, you can make loads of 'weight savings' on the frame build. Like Trek with the Emonda, you can make ultra-light weight frames, ones which do not conform to the UCI minimum weight restriction and build a motor into that. You would likely save a good deal of weight which might make the impantation of the motor more profitable. This, of course, requires collusion from the manufacturer. It makes my mind boggle. But there we are.
I'm intrigued that it could actually work. I've just weighed the battery from my phone and it was 42g (although not fully charged*) and claims to hold 9.8Wh. So, in other words, ignoring motor inefficiency and mechanical losses, it could generate almost 10 watts for an hour. The Tesla electric car people claim a possible efficiency of around 80% battery to wheel power. This, however, is in an extremely expensive custom designed vehicle. Something cobbled together in a seat tube would be lucky to get half that.
So, if you had half a kilo of battery, half a kilo of motor, half a kilo of assorted wires, gears etc. you might get an extra 50W for most of an hour for your extra 1.5kg. Maybe. And then there are cooling issues (have you felt how hot your phone gets during a protracted Angry Birds session?)
I still wonder if "mechanical doping" is actually practical and useful. I'd be interested to see the technical specs though.
*This is, of course, a joke
Not so certain for a Cross race, but in a road race, and the principle would work in a cross race to a point.
My take is as follows, at the top end the pros are turning out fairly similar numbers. Now if you can produce an extra 40 or 50 watts for 30secs at the right moment in a race, think Cancellara and how he destroyed the field a couple of years ago. I am not for a moment suggesting Cancellara was e-doping but you can see why the rumors arose. You really wouldn't need much in the way of battery or motor to do this.
I think this would harldy be cobbled together. The crank must have been modified to add some kind of pinion gear arrangement.
I doubt that the plan would be to use it all the way around - but for key moments. If you see the youtube clip of her distancing the rest of the stellar field in another cross race from the gun - you get the idea. Or you're away in a break - an extra 50W would let you go away.
She's not going to be sitting there not pedalling for an hour...
I doubt the battery would have helped her in the Worlds massively - you needed to be a fantastic bike handler too - all the extra watts in the world wouldnt have helped me.....
You need to borrow a mate's bike for a World Championship?
Since it fits so perfectly, what other races did she have to borrow it for?
Who is this mate who needs a bike with a motor in it?
Yes, this isn't as unusual as you might think for athletes in low-paying sports like cycling (especially women's). Not that the excuse seems credible on the face of it. We'll see.
Its either that or your brothers EPO I guess.
Ban the rider and the entire team, make sure those involved are kicked out of competitive cycling for good. Cheating with hidden motors is just so outrageously blatant. Even with drugs or blood doping you can sort of raise a shadow of doubt over the testing or samples being swapped or being victim to a spiked drink or taking a med that has a different formulation to what you are used to but this is more red handed than finger painting with tomato soup. As others have intimated she may just be a test patsy for something bigger and I hope the UCI leave no stone unturned.
It's all about the bike
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