Brian Cookson, the president of cycling’s world governing body the UCI, has vowed to stamp out motorised doping after a bike was confiscated at the Cyclo-cross World Championships in Belgium on Saturday for containing a motor.
An incident of “technological fraud” is being investigated in the under-23 women’s race, which was won by Britain’s Evie Richards.
The bike was seized on Saturday after Belgian Femke Van den Driessche, one of the race
Van den Driessche, 19, denied she had purposely used a bike with a motor, saying that it was identical to her own but belonged to a friend and a team mechanic had given it to her by mistake.
Cookson then confirmed the first case of mechanical doping in a sport yesterday morning, which is trying to recover from the spectre of performance-enhancing drug use.
“It is no secret that a motor was found,” Cookson said.
“We believe that it was indeed technological doping. 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.”
Bikes have been scanned by the UCI at major competitions, including the Tour de France, after rumour and speculation regarding motors hidden in frames. But this is the first time one has been found.
Regulations, recently strengthened, state that a rider is given a minimum suspension of six months and a fine of up to 200,000 Swiss francs if found guilty of the offence.
