Many athletes have turned to performance-enhancing drugs to win in cycling competitions, but the advent of technology has paved way to a new form of cheating. The so-called "mechanical doping" uses hidden motors to deceptively boost riders' chances of winning, giving them an unfair edge over other competitors.
Tour de France officials want to curb this form of cheating and with the world's most famous cycling race set to take place a few days from now, would-be cheaters are being warned that thermal cameras will be used to detect motors in bikes.
The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), the world governing body for cycling that oversees international cycling competitions, said it will have the resources to conduct up to 4,000 tests over the two-week event.
"There is literally no-where to hide for anyone foolish enough to attempt to cheat in this way," UCI President Brian Cookson said in a statement warning those who plan to cheat during the cycling event. "A modified bike is extremely easy to detect with our scanners and we will continue to deploy them extensively throughout the Tour and the rest of the season."
The UCI added that it will use "unpredictable" testing protocols such as manual bike checks and magnetic scans to ensure that no Tour de France rider gets an unfair advantage.
Among the methods that will be employed by authorities to detect hidden motors include a magnetic resonance method that screens the start and finish line and a motorbike-mounted thermal detector.
The thermal cameras have already been set up by the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission.
Two months ago, a TV station reported that hidden motors were used in the Strade Bianche one-day race and Coppi e Bartali race in Italy. The report used thermal imaging to reveal the hidden motors.
Magnetic resonance testing, on the other hand, has helped the UCI find one motor this year in the bike of Belgian rider Femke Van den Driessche.
Van den Driessche was found guilty of using a Vivax motor hidden with a battery in the seat tube. She was fined 20,000 Swiss francs ($20,569) and now faces a six-year ban. She is also compelled to return all her prize money and medals.
The UCI vowed to crack down on mechanical doping following the incident.
"This problem is worse than doping," French Sports Minister Thierry Braillard said. "The very future of cycling is hanging in the balance."
