Competition bikes with hidden motor haunt the sport

The chutzpah reaches new heights: cyclists are using bikes with hidden motor. It is the "mechanical doping"



The Belgian Femke Van den Driessche was the favorite to win a championship euroupeu cyclists under 23 years. But the athlete of 19 years ended disqualified. The reason? Doping. But it was not a classic doping, as he took almost all the medals and trophies also cyclist Lance Armstrong in 2012. In the latest case, a little engine was found inside the bike Femke.

There are electric bikes, used primarily by people who want to get around by bike, but without much physical effort. This is not the case, because it is very difficult to hide a giant battery. Already Vivax Assist device, which is what Femke allegedly used, is hidden inside the bicycle frame, the part that holds the seat of the rider.

The engine, of cylindrical shape, has 22 centimeters and 1.8 kilograms. It consists of the engine itself, by a gear, external battery - which can be hidden in the made for bottles of water - and a part connected to the wheel. To trigger the mechanism, just push a small button which is on the handlebar: you earn over 200 Watts of power, which increases the speed at about 5km / h. It's all very discreet - until the noise is low. The system is virtually unnoticeable.

According to the company, the product was not created with the intention of helping cyclists to trapacearem. They claim that the engine is intended for patients with heart problems, older people or can not do much physical exertion. Given the fact that the Vivax Assist sales began 10 years ago, it is to imagine that the case of young Belgian was not the first of its kind: it was only the first to be caught. The video below, for example, shows a competitor falling from his bike. Even in the ground, the wheel continues to rotate with enough speed

to catch the cheaters, the UCI (International Cycling Union) uses an X-ray in some competitions. With it, you can see any object within the bike. After the case of Femke, the Union must strengthen the supervision - and who knows how many other athletes will be caught.

If you think that's all that technology can do for fraud, you are wrong. A report in the Italian newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport showed the existence of electromagnetic doping, also used on bicycles. The system would be even lower, and would be positioned directly in the wheels.