Professional cyclist says motor doping "impossible" at top level, reacts to "crazy story" from French race as cycling film actor denies cheating at amateur event

A professional cyclist who gives their views on the sport to Belgian news outlet Sporza anonymously as the "spy in the peloton" has suggested it would be "impossible" for a top-level rider to motor dope and not get caught.

The return to the spotlight for the very 21st century form of cheating comes after a cycling film actor and respected restaurant co-founder, who counts Mark Cavendish among his Instagram followers, was accused of fleeing an amateur French stage race after being suspected of motor doping. His teammate was charged with aggravated wilful violence against the race's director and is accused of driving into Frédéric Lenormand, carrying him on the bonnet of his van for up to 300 metres and leaving the shocked director "scared for his life".

Yesterday, through lawyers, Giovambattista Iera responded to the alleged motor doping and said he had "already been convicted by the press without any evidence", strongly denying that he cheated at Les Routes de l'Oise stage race or played any part in assaulting the race director.

> A brief history of motor doping in cycling, from the pro peloton to amateur hill climbs

The mystery pro cyclist told the Belgian press he had read about the case involving lera, calling it "crazy" but added that it would completely unrealistic to get away with mechanical doping in a professional race.

"You would sometimes think that Tadej Pogačar rides a moped, but unfortunately that is not the case," they said, explaining that motor doping is a rarely heard topic of conversation within the peloton.

"We are being checked a lot for motors this year," the pro continued. "Until last year, the inspector came to scan our bikes every three races with his tablet. This year we had him visit us in almost every classic. At a certain stage race I was even checked every day.

"If an alarm goes off during the tablet check, the bicycle is opened. But I have never been able to see that with my own eyes. To date, no one in the professional peloton has been caught with a motor. I honestly think that it will be impossible to ride around with a motorcycle in 2024."

The mystery rider called former pro Jérôme Pineau an "idiot" for his comments during La Vuelta a España accusing Sepp Kuss and Jumbo-Visma of having used a motor to propel the American's Tourmalet stage performance.

"How can you explain that? Cycling is my sport, I lived from it and still live from it. It's my passion, but I'm scared. It worries me very much. I see certain things happening..." Pineau had claimed, comments rubbished by the rider currently active in the pro peloton.

"Every so often you have some idiot, like Jérôme Pineau, who says that riders use motors," he said. "But I don't know how you as a rider would imagine something like that and how you would get away with it in these times full of checks. In the period 2008-2013, stories occasionally emerged about motors in the peloton. I believe that there were actually riders riding around with a motor in their bike.

"But after the rumours about a motor at Cancellara, the UCI took action to detect mechanical fraud. This does not mean that Cancellara actually used a motor."

The sport's governing body agrees with the rider's assertion about the implausibility of getting away with motor doping at the top level, the UCI last summer warning that it is "impossible" to motor dope, after all 997 Tour de France tests came back negative.

UCI officials carried out 837 tests before Tour de France stages and 160 at the end of stages, none of which showed a rider using a bike with a hidden motor.

Former Belgian cyclocross rider Femke Van den Driessche remains the biggest name, and only top-tier professional, to be caught mechanically doping. In 2016, the UCI banned her for six years and handed out a 20,000 Swiss Francs fine following the discovery of a concealed motor in a bike prepared for her at the World Championships in Zolder.

Incidents at amateur level are unsurprisingly more common, given the reduced resources to catch cheats. There was the somewhat amusing case from a hill climb in the Ardèche where a 73-year-old finished in 16th place, an impressive three minutes down on the fastest time over the 10km course, only for officials to find a hidden motor in his bike's hub.

Also in France, in 2018, a Cat-3 racer was slapped with a five-year ban after being found to have a hidden motor at the Grand Prix de Saint-Michel-de-Double. Over the border, in Italy, a year later two amateur riders fled a Gran Fondo before Carabinieri officers arrived. They'd been accused by other participants and refused to have their bikes checked by event officials.

The most recent case, involving a former elite cyclist and actor in the classic cycling film 'Le Vélo de Ghislain Lambert', 53-year-old lera (who is seemingly pally with Astana team staff and riders) was accused of motor doping and allegedly chucked his bike in a van driven by a teammate who ran over a race director during their escape.

Lawyers for lera yesterday addressed the rumours and news stories, releasing a statement in which he stated "I did not run away or strike and organiser" and strongly denied the allegations.

Le Bonhomme Picard reported that Iera handed himself in to the local Gendarmes, facing charges of attempted fraud and aggravated assault, and that he was exonerated in relation to the incident involving race director Lenormand. A teammate was charged with aggravated and wilful violence against the race director, and will appear in court in January 2025.

The public prosecutor in the town of Beauvis in northern France confirmed that a separate investigation is ongoing into Iera's alleged mechanical fraud that could potentially lead to a five-year prison sentence and fine of up to €375,000; however, Iera claims an investigation has found him innocent of these charges too. 

lera's statement said: "Two minutes before the start of the final stage, outside of all race protocols and rules, unknown individuals surrounded me, accused of 'mechanical doping', demanded to take my bike, and pulled at me to leave with them, creating a commotion. The race organiser (promoter) appeared with them, and I objected to their accusations, told them that I was third overall in the standings and would finish the stage, and then the race officials could inspect my bike. They refused to allow me to start the stage, continued with their aggression toward me in front of everyone, so I removed myself from the area to avoid further harassment. The unknown individuals followed me.

"I did not 'run away' or strike an organiser. On the contrary, I was quick to contact the Gendarmes to immediately resolve the false accusations. Since then, the police investigation has demonstrated my innocence and has cleared me of any involvement in any act of violence against the organisers. With regards to the alleged 'mechanical doping', all the bicycles have been inspected and scanned via x-ray by the investigators and technicians."

lera claimed his "right to the presumption of innocence has been gravely violated" and said he was "appalled by the amplitude of the publications online, on social media and in the press". The rider was expelled from his team, AC Bellaingeoise, the team's manager Daphnée Bos calling his behaviour "intolerable", a stance that has not changed in light of lera's statement.

[📷: Velo60 Photography]

Race director Lenormand says he has not returned to work and is "still a little upset".

"My brother saw me being driven off on the hood [of a van]. I got the fright of my life. I thought I was going to go under the car," he said.

Lenormand called for more help from the French Anti-Doping Agency and French Multi-Sport Federation (UFOLEP) to carry out unannounced anti-doping controls and bike checks at important amateur races, as tests cost "around €700 per person".