Christophe Bassons has been fighting against doping in cycling since his days as a young professional rider and uncovered the most recent mechanical-doping case in the sport.
The former cyclist has spoken with Peloton magazine about the problem of technological fraud in cycling.
“I don’t see any reason why they haven’t been [motors in the pro ranks]. And maybe there still are isolated cases today. I don’t know. But one thing is certain: The technology is getting more and more sophisticated”, said Bassons.
“Fontayne [the amateur rider] used one of the first models, but the motors are getting smaller and smaller with batteries that are lighter and lighter, et cetera. Nothing leads me to believe that there haven’t been motors. Everybody wants to win in bike racing and, in addition to that, there is the financial factor at the higher levels of the sport, which obviously facilitates matters. But the one thing that really helps us in the fight against this kind of doping is that a motor is simply much easier to detect. If we want to find motors in bikes we can!
“I don’t think that the scans are reliable enough with the new kinds of motors, but it still is not hard at all to see a motor in a bike. All you have to do is take out the seat post and shine a light down the seat tube. It’s that easy. It’s a bit more complicated with wheels, but it is possible. And that is the good news.”
