Engine doping - hide-and-seek with engines - UCI intensifies fight against technical fraud

The necessary technology has been around for years: Electric mini-motors that can be attached to a bike without great effort in such a way that they are not recognisable from the outside. However, whether and to what extent hidden drives have been used in cycling races to date is a matter of speculation. So far, only one case of "motor doping" has been uncovered. In January 2016, inspectors from the UCI discovered an auxiliary drive in a spare bike belonging to Belgian cyclist Femke Van den Driessche at the cyclo-cross world championships. It remained unclear whether the bike had been used in competitions. Nevertheless, the UCI showed no mercy and banned the 19-year-old for six years. The judgement should also have a deterrent effect.

Last week, the UCI demonstrated that it does not only want to tackle technical fraud with draconian penalties. Mark Barfield, technical coordinator at the UCI, presented a newly developed test method to specialised journalists at the association's headquarters on Lake Geneva, which is designed to catch cheaters. It is based on a commercially available tablet computer that uses an adapter to emit a magnetic field that reacts to magnetic fields on the bike. When scanning the bike, the device registers suspicious sources of interference such as motors and batteries located in the frame. Because legal electric shifting systems and power meters are also operated with batteries, only a correspondingly strong deflection on the display is considered an indication of a hidden drive. Suspicious bikes are then analysed in more detail. The magnetic resonance method developed by the British IT company Endoscope-I has been tested on more than 2,000 wheels to date. At the spring classics Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix in April alone, the commissaires scanned over 200 bikes before and after the races. The organisation plans to test around 10,000 bikes in 2016.

The UCI is under pressure on the subject of engine doping, and not just because of the Van den Driessche affair. There are several video clips circulating on the internet that appear to prove the use of engines in cycling races. In April, French and Italian media gave the impression that manipulated bikes had been used in two spring races in Italy. Reporters had directed thermal imaging cameras at suspicious riders from motorbikes during the races. The images show conspicuous heat zones on the wheels, which could have been caused by engines. The names of riders were not mentioned, but if the allegation is true, the problem would be far greater than previously suspected.

Insiders have repeatedly called on the UCI to use thermal imaging cameras to detect hidden engines. Most recently, Gianni Bugno, chairman of the riders' association CPA, spoke out in favour of this. At the presentation of the new test, Barfield was therefore also keen to emphasise its advantages over other testing methods. The Brit explained in detail why methods such as thermography, X-rays and ultrasound, which the UCI had also considered, were rejected. One of the arguments against thermography using thermal cameras is that only engines that are in operation or have recently been in use can be detected. The method is therefore unsuitable for pre-launch tests. In addition, mini engines can easily be insulated against waste heat to trick the test. In addition to the complicated technical implementation, legal problems also speak against X-ray examinations. X-rays in public areas require high safety precautions and are not even permitted in many countries. Ultrasound examinations are generally unsuitable for such tests, as no clear signals can be expected due to the different materials on a racing bike.

Magnetic resistance testing, on the other hand, has several advantages. "The procedure is reliable, simple and can be carried out without intensive training," explained Barfield. In addition, the test devices are available worldwide, relatively inexpensive, easy to transport and can be used without legal restrictions. Another argument is the short testing time. Scanning a wheel takes barely more than half a minute.

The UCI now wants to make its test procedure available to its national member federations as quickly as possible and train the commissaires in how to use the test. No details were given as to how many devices each federation will receive. However, it would be important to maximise the number because the problem is not limited to professional cycling and important races such as the grand tours and classics. Whether there will be enough devices available in the foreseeable future to be able to carry out tests at amateur and junior level is currently completely open.