The Chainlink

19 Year Old Cyclist Receives Sentence of 6 Year Ban From Professional Racing

Three months ago, in a muddy field in Belgium, cycling’s newest boogeyman first showed its face when 19-year-old Belgian cyclocross racer Femke Van den Driessche got caught using an illegal motor inside he.... Since then, there have been a variety of murky reports on electromagnetic wheels, a truther’s video of Van den Driessche speeding away with the use of the motor, and an in-depth joint investigation by the Italian and French press that used secret thermal cameras to film inside bikes and implicated one of the most famous cyclists in the world.

What do you think of the sentence? There's a bit of a backstory - her family has been on the shady side of racing (her brother is currently banned for doping). She continued to deny any knowledge or involvement - saying the bike was her friend's bike (identical to her own bike), and wasn't aware it had a motor and accidentally mixed up with her bikes. Essentially, this is the end of her career and may as well be a lifetime ban since she will not be able to compete for six years. There is also the concern motorized "doping" has been around longer than we all thought and could be a larger problem in professional cycling.

Full Article: http://fittish.deadspin.com/professional-cyclist-gets-six-year-ban-...

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Permalink Reply by Jim Reho on April 27, 2016 at 3:21pm

Right, Femke.  Who would ever notice an additional 250 watts of power being pumped into her pedaling?  Give me a break!  I must say, though, I looked at the Vivax web sign and the technology is quite elegant.  They claim that when the system is not engaged, there is no drag on the wheels, which would be a significant plus over the (mythical) Copenhagen wheel and its like.  It has a cool little switch on the handlebars that you can use to turn it on and off.  Spendy, though, as one might expect.

I've always found it ironic that a seemingly innocuous activity like cycling has given rise to probably the most rampant and systematic cheating ever seen in the world of sport.  The use of steroids in baseball and football was primitive compared to the deluxe blood-doping (and outright replacement) in cycling.  And look at those Italians in Breaking Away!      

Permalink Reply by V W on April 28, 2016 at 11:18am
I'm more intrigued by this Vivax assist system than anything else about this story. I wish there were dealers of these bikes in the US.

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