Cycling chiefs to use motor-detecting X-ray machine

GENEVA: An X-ray machine will be “used from this weekend” to help cycling bosses detect miniature motors in bicycles at top-level races, world cycling president David Lappartient said.

A mobile X-ray machine mounted on a trailer “is a new tool that will allow riders’ bikes to be monitored” to help catch so-called mechanical doping cheats, Lappartient said on Wednesday.

Thermal cameras and magnetometric tablets will also continue to be used in the detection of the tiny motors, usually hidden in the bike’s frame and which can give a rider a crucial boost in power at specific moments during a race, such as riding into a headwind or on a tough climb.

International Cycling Union (UCI) chief Lappartient said the governing body have also not “ruled out” stripping down bikes but the X-ray machines should allow officials to detect motors without needing to take apart a bicycle.

“We hope to show that our riders don’t use motors. The aim is to show that everyone is battling on a level playing field,” said Lappartient.

Lappartient did not reveal at which event the X-ray machine would be used this weekend but former cyclist Jean-Christophe Peraud, who is heading a commission tackling technological fraud, says the machine will be widely used.

”We will be present with this technology across the five continents and in 18 countries,” he said.