220Triathlon Edição 334

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28 I I FEBRUARY 2017
COMMENT
When Femke van den Driessche was
caught with a motor in her bicycle’s
seat-post at the cyclocross U23
Worlds earlier this year, it appeared one of the
more outlandish sports stories of 2016. The notion
of mechanical assistance in a bike race seemed
too obscure to be plausible, particularly for a
sport with such pitiful prize money. The Belgian’s
improbable denials did little to clarify a baffling
episode, and led to many dismissing it as an
aberration from a naive young rider.
There’s a more cynical perspective though, and
one that will indulge conspiracy theorists as much
as it will disappoint those clinging to the integrity
of competition. Cycling’s dark past is littered with
isolated incidents that later proved endemic in
drug-ravaged pelotons. If Ven den Driessche was
prepared to take such elaborate steps to cheat,
would those with far greater incentive not explore
the options?
Such was the question Irish journalist Ger
Gilroy put to Lance Armstrong in a recent
interview. “In 1999motors were for motorcycles.
Are you out of your mind? Are you crazy?” the
Texan retorted. At face-value, Armstrong had a
point. Even in a discussion about doping, the
question jarred, yet scratch just a little and its
merits become clear.
French television station Stade 2 has alleged
seven cyclists ‘moto-doped’ at two races in Italy
in March; five with bottom bracket motors, two
using rear wheel magnet systems. Gilroy dug
further and tracked down Istan Varjas, a
Hungarian engineer, who developed a prototype
as far back as 1998.
Varjas claims he persuaded French police to
approach the UCI, cycling’s governing body, to
advise screening bikes, only for them to be
turned away. “The scandal is not whether a
motor is used or not used,” he says. “If there is
an organisation that is supposed to stop this
problem, they are complicit.”
He would not be drawn on whether he supplied
professional cyclists, but willingly admitted to
providing motors to Michele Ferrari, the disgraced
Italian doctor linked with Armstrong, to help
riders perform the equivalent of high-speed
moto-pacing without needing to draft a vehicle.
“He’s a friend,” he says. “He understands how
to use it for training. It’s better than being behind
a scooter because you can make the same effort
but not inhale the smoke. The motor is very small,
you can put it any place on the bike. The limit is
the budget not the technology.”
If mechanical cheating is a problem for cycling,
it’s also a risk for triathlon and the International
Triathlon Union, the sport’s governing body, has
taken steps to combat the issue by licensing the
UCI’s technological fraud software.
“It will allow the ITU, our national federations
and continental confederations, as well as
other triathlon event companies to minimise
the possibility of foul play,” says president
Marisol Casado.
Gergely Markus, the ITU sport director, was
trained alongside 11 other technical officials, and
adds: “I feel that the course prepared us well to
not only detect mechanical fraud, but also
educate the triathlon community.”
“They do check our bikes before races,” Jonny
Brownlee confirms. “I’ve been there where they
check the diameter and it won’t be long before
they start checking with radio signals or x-rays.”
Ironman says it’s working closely with the ITU
to arrange testing, but neither David McNamee
nor Joe Skipper, two UK professional long-
distance triathletes who both raced in the World
Ironman Championship in Hawaii this year, have
had their bikes checked. While there’s no
suggestion that mechanical doping has crossed
into triathlon, increased vigilance would be
welcome. As another pro suggested put to me:
“Look at the profile of the bikes used in Hawaii.
You could almost hide a small child in the frame…
let alone a tiny motor.”
ii Lionel Sanders produced the fastest recorded
Ironman-branded time (7:44) in Arizona, with
fellow Canadian Brent McMahon six minutes
behind. Both made the all-time top 10 over the
iron-distance, with half of the list from races in
2016, and the earliest dating back to 2011. It’s
almost a decade since Chrissie Wellington raised
the bar for the women, now the men are doing it
en masse. [For more on Sanders and his
record-breaking ways, head to p18.]
ii Marisol Casado’s personal admission that she
would like to see the Olympic distance cut in half
for Tokyo 2020 caused ructions in the triathlon
community, with critics decrying the punchier,
‘tv-friendly’ format. Leaving aside the merits of a
switch, I was taken by the piercing analogy struck
by one commenter who said if the aimwas simply
broader appeal to TV viewers they should adapt
the fencing so that body protection was banned
and they used real swords. Q 220
“‘Look at the profiles of the bikes used in Kona. You could
hide a small child in the frame… let alone a tiny motor’”
TIM HEMING
Tim explores the murky world of mechanical doping…
ILLUSTRATION
DANIEL SEEX