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Belgium House 1 Eddy Merckx leads in Brussels to London ride Mechanical doping: Ban cheats for life, urges Eddy Merckx
Eddy Merckx says riders caught using hidden motors in their bikes should be banned for life and that cheating in that way is worse than doing so by taking drugs. He was reacting to the scandal surrounding fellow Belgian Femke Van den Driessche.
Speaking in Doha where the Ladies' Tour of Qatar started today, Merckx said: “They have to suspend for life, for me they have to suspend for life.”
Under rules introduced by the UCI last year, currently there is a minimum ban of six months and a fine of between CHF20,000-CHF200,000.
> All you need to know about concealed motors
UCI staff discovered the concealed motor in a bike in the pit area on Saturday at the Cyclo-cross World Championships in Zolder, Belgium while the women’s under-23 race was taking place.
Van den Driessche, aged 19, was favourite to win the event following a season in which notable results included her finishing second in a world class field at the Koppenbergcross, a performance that has now been called into question, including by Merckx himself.
“From what I saw yesterday on the television, it was not the first time,” he said. “They also showed a cyclo-cross on the Koppenberg and it was not normal. For me, it’s the worst thing you can do. You might as well go by motorcycle.”
> Did Van den Driessche cheat on the Koppenberg? Watch here ...
Insisting that technological fraud is a worse form of cheating than doping using banned substances or methods, he said: “For me it’s more than doping, it’s more than doping. It gives you 50 watts more, or even 100, it depends.
“That’s nothing to do with cycling anymore. That’s motorcycling. They have to go riding with [nine-time MotoGP world champion Valentino] Rossi.”
While there has been widespread speculation about the use of hidden motors in professional cycling since 2010, with Fabian Cancellara and Ryder Hesjedal among the riders to have fallen under suspicion.
The Van den Driessche case is the first time a concealed motor has been found at a race, but Merckx believes it is a one-off occurrence rather than being reflective of a widespread practice.
“I don’t think so; I don’t think the other ones are so stupid to do something like that. That can only happen with riders who don’t have experience. What has happened is very bad for cycling,.”
Merckx, the winner of 11 Grand Tours, 19 Monuments and three world championships, had a confession of his own to make, however.
“I also have an electric bike, but not for racing. It’s for climbing, for my health,” said the 70-year-old, who was fitted with a pacemaker in 2013 and also underwent heart surgery the following year.
“But for racing, I would never use something like that,” he added. “That’s very bad.”
> Wilier “shocked” and will take legal action against Van den Driessche
Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.
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17 comments
The real issue as i see it, there is no way this isn't more than the rider at fault. Does anyone believe that the rider went out fitted a motor etc all by themselves, family, team etc. those who should have been guiding her, where are they now?
So yes the rider should be punished, but to hang the rider still leaves those around her, they are the ones who should have been guiding her and IMO are actually guilty of a greater offence.
UCI will set the precedent with this case. The shades of grey cannot be established on the first decision but all future ones will be set against this.
The UCI should establish whether she used or knew about it beyond reasonable doubt and ban her for at least 2 years, preferably 5.
When I watch the videos of Cancellara in the Parix Roubaix and Tour of Flanders I can't believe he is not cheating there. No one wants Cancellara to be found cheating but then plenty of people were in favour of Armstrong.
I watched those yesterday, didnt think anyhing of it at the time I watched them live, but now mmmm, not so sure.
"And we will be going to a Mr L Armstrong for his take on the scandal in 3 - 2 - 1..."
The OP should have finished this article with "Should we care about what multiple times cheater says about other cheater?"
Eddy is a known re-incident cheater. You can tell me all you want about him being a great rider yada yada yada but for me, after being caught twice everyone should get a perma ban.
This girl is 19, we do not know the details but it is her 1st incident being caught so I would let her pass with a 1y ban.
Now what I would love to know is who "might have" pressured her to use the motor cause I'm betting at least the mechanic know about it...
All I see discussed is the rider being a cheat and not the "(peer) pressure" it might have had to go to such extremes to get results. Things need to be investigated thoroughly so not only the rider gets the blame.
Yeh Yeh Yeh, I know Eddy is a hero, but did he always biked clean?
And:
Can we please concider the fact that this is a girl of 19 years old?!?!?!?!
She probably didn't decide this on her own, so please leave her alone, investigate (punsih propably the parents) and be a bit more soft and conciered to her. Se is a girl, and it is only a sport where the advertisers make the money and the sporters train hard and loose a lot.
I think that's a fair point. Perhaps - if her guilt is proven, of course - a shorter sentence now with a longer one suspended on condition of good bahaviour? Might provide the incentive to be wary of, or the tool to resist pressure for, cheating too.
Why is this any different to it being a 19 year old boy, or 30 year old woman? At the end of the day she is the one who pushes the button when the riding gets too hard. She should have a lifetime ban and the whole team should be closed down.
Well someone with 30 would have been riding for longer and should be more mature / accountable about it.
She just started her career (in my book she is still a kid), and who are we to lifetime ban someone that just got out of being a teenager? I know I have done mistakes when I was 19.
What you are saying is to make an example out of her... if this was to be done, many more should have come before her because on my book cheating is cheating, just because this is "mechanical doping" shouldnt be treated any different from other types of cheating / doping.
Or she could have been pushed to do it... We shouldn't jump to such conclusions without a fair investigation.
Lads, just think if it was your kid, would you ground her for the rest of her life for some wrong doing she/her team made?
Not even murder has lifetime sentence for first offence (in some places)
The UCI have her by the proverbials and should make it count. Tell all or get kicked out for life.
What sort of deterrent is a one year ban?
Lads, just think if it was your kid, would you ground her for the rest of her life for some wrong doing she/her team made?
Not even murder has lifetime sentence for first offence (in some places)
[/quote]
I am not saying lock her up and throw away the key, being locked in a cell for the rest of you life and not being allowed to race your bike are very different punishments. She is young so has plenty of time to find another job, or maybe Rossi will tale her on and she could be in the moto GP next year.
Another former rider saying that their form of cheating is somehow less bad than this form. Even for the notoriously hypocritical pro cycling world, the feeding frenzy is pretty outragoeous.
“But for racing, I would never use something like that,” he added. “That’s very bad.”
hahahaha but being caught 3 times is ok? being caught that many times suggests that it happened more than once, apart from Millar of course.
mechanical doping wont turn you into a pro, it will give you a speed increase for 10 minutes maybe, just enough of a % to make a difference - exactly the same way as drugs will do.
the rubicon has been crossed!
Why not?
Ban cheats for life says a cheat and how’s this worse than taking drugs?
Well, for one thing, its no longer a human power machine is it? Regardless of what you do to your body through training (and doping), you are still powering your machine with your body. Once you start using mechanical doping, you might as well use a motorbike or a car or anything else. You aren't racing a push bike. Its not just a matter of not competing on a level playing field (as is the case of dopers vs non-dopers) but rather that you aren't even competing in the same sport! Taken to the extreme, you don't even need to be particularly fit to benefit, where as doping only works with high levels of training.
Of course, people who are beaten by a mechanical doper are just as badly cheated against as by those who use drugs. And in terms of pure effect - drugs will not turn me in a a pro cyclist, or even a half decent one - they only add a few % to your performance (enough to be the difference between winning and also ran at the top level though). On the other hand, mechanical doping will add 50W, 100W, 200W (depending on how its done). You probably can't achieve even the lowest increase using drugs.
An intentional cheat is a cheat - but it also seems quite reasonable to suggest that there are varying levels. In the not so distant past, caffein was banned - I think we would agree that there is a different level of cheating going on if you were caught over the caffein limit than if you are caught doing EPO. Same applies to doping vs mechanical doping.