Bad weather for cycling. Saturday January 30, 2016, a case of mechanical cheating was discovered at the cyclo-cross world championships, held in Belgium. The first of its kind. The bike of Belgian Femke van Den Driessche, favorite in the event reserved for under-23s, was equipped with a motor. The UCI immediately confirmed the facts, openly citing a case of technological doping. Then its president, the Briton Brian Cookson, assured Tuesday February 9 in Doha, on the sidelines of the Tour of Qatar, that it could become “necessary” to individually control all the bikes of all the riders, in all the races.
President of the European Cycling Union (UEC), Frenchman David Lappartient does not believe in large-scale mechanical fraud, such as pharmaceutical doping in the professional peloton. But he calls on international bodies, primarily the UCI, to act quickly and strongly. He explained it to FrancsJeux.
FrancsJeux: What was your reaction when you learned that a Belgian cyclist had participated in the Cyclo-cross Worlds with a bike equipped with a motor?
David Lappartient: I was stunned. We knew that this type of cheating existed, but I never imagined seeing such an affair at a world championships, with the controls carried out on the mechanics at this level of competition. My arms fell from me.
Does this affair reveal that, as with doping, the cheaters are ahead of the controls?
No. The controls exist. It is also surprising that, knowing this, an athlete was caught using older generation equipment.
So technological doping is more advanced today?
If I believe what I have read or heard, cheating is now nestled in the wheels. But, once again, the controls exist. The UCI now has very advanced means to detect all of this, thanks to magnetic fields and heat measurements.
Is mechanical fraud very present in professional cycling today?
I do not believe. If it exists, it remains marginal. We have seen some strange things in the recent past, four or five years ago, but today I don't dare believe that there are many cheaters. Important work is being done by the UCI to prevent cheating.
At the start of the week, the European Cycling Union published a press release calling for more technological controls...
Indeed. We must do it, perhaps even in greater numbers than is currently being done. Our sport is just recovering from a very difficult period. The UCI, WADA and the national anti-doping agencies have done an exceptional job. Doping has declined sharply. Today we are witnessing real sport. But we cannot afford to see cases of mechanical cheating risk destroying all this and leaving the public thinking that cyclists are incurable.
What do you propose?
Cycling must act. And he must act quickly. It will undoubtedly be necessary to intensify controls to show cheaters that there is, within the authorities, a desire to detect all possible fraud. It is much easier to find tampered with material than to detect doping in the latest generation.
Why show such urgency to act after a single case of technological doping?
The answer is in the media. Since this affair, newspapers, radios, televisions and websites have only talked about this. I recently attended an alumni meal in the town where I am mayor. The conversation revolved around this matter. Ten years are sometimes necessary to regain credibility, but it often only takes 5 minutes to lose it. We have the tools to fight against mechanical cheating, let's use them.
