Trouble brewing in Belgium
The UCI announced yesterday that they detained a bike from the women's U23 race at the Cyclocross World Championships in Belgium because of technical fraud concerns.
"The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) confirms that pursuant to the UCI's Regulations on technological fraud a bike has been detained for further investigation following checks at the Women's Under 23 race of the 2016 UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships. This does not concern any of the riders on the podium. Further details will be shared in due course," read the statement from the UCI.
UCI president Brian Cookson was a bit more direct on Twitter.
"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," said Cookson spread out over two tweets.
There have been rumors about electric motors in bike racing for a while now, but this would be the very first documented case if this charge holds up.
The rider of the bike in question has been identified by many news sources as Femke Van Den Driessche, a Belgian U23 rider who was considered a favorite for the U23 race. Van Den Driessche however did not have a good race and ended up not finishing.
Velonews and Sporza.be were the first news outlets that reported on the situation.
“After one lap of the world championships, UCI took Femke’s bike in the pit area and tested it with some sort of tablet. The bike was immediately sealed and taken. The UCI then called in the Belgian federation. When the saddle was removed, there were electrical cables in the seat tube. When they wanted to remove the bottom bracket, which is normally not difficult, they could not because the crank was stuck. Inside there was a motor,” said Sporza journalist Maarten Vangramberen according to Velonews.
Femke Van Den Driessche and her father have vehemently denied these charges and Van Den Driessche gave a tearful interview to sporza.be
On an interesting side note, Cyclingnews reported "Van den Driessche’s brother Niels is currently suspended for doping."
