Cancellara motorized attacks?

[hfer07]

the Cassani´s video -I'm my view-was taken too seriously, by the fact that they were holding their laughs during the explaining.-If the video was indeed authentic, they should have unveiled the entire mechanism down to the minimum detail, so they could show who it works "at Pro Level"-unlike the one that is advertise publicly.

TBO I already had thought about that possibility in past years, but if something goes wrong with the mechanism, it could block the BB, or have some kind of impediment to the bike to used while riding it-even if though they can switch bikes, it would be noticed somehow....

 

[BeachBum]

If the UCI is so worried about motorized bikes the fix is simple-- post race bike inspections. They already do pre race inspections, how else would they know to ban AC's and Saxo's TT bikes? Inspect them pre-race, mark/tag all the bikes in some way, and then check them again afterwards.

 

[royalpig180]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJNLMYpr2TM

Oh wait, still Cancellara...he's always been sprinting while sitting, it's just his style I guess. Unless you suggest that he's been using this motor for several years. It's not all that weird.

I agree. These performances are similar to what we've come to expect from Cancellara -- he's simply one of the best time trialists of all time and he's put these skills to use in the classics.

If he was using a motor in Flanders or Roubaix, he's motored to most of his career victories, which seems highly unlikely.

 

[brianf7]

UCI are spending money our money looking into motorised bikes I think the Irishman has finally lost it he has been talking to the leprechauns .

I tried to win a up hill sprint on a 25 cc moped and cooked the motor.

 

[Oldman]

I'm just not buying this yet. Come on, it's not as if Cancellara's some mug. Is it that suspicious that the time trial world champion (by a mile) should put out huge watts while in the saddle?

Anyone seen a track sprint lately? They initiate a sprint out of the saddle and then sit down. I'd expect anyone that's actually sprinted to know that. That the UCI says "we take this seriously" while not taking Landis information is absolutely classic.

 

[Nicoper]

Don't they keep the bikes from PR winners with dirt they gathered during the race.

It would be mighty stupid to put an engine in that bike, don't you all think?

 

[ergmonkey]

From what I've seen, Cancellara's SRM numbers from Flanders seem to match his performance perfectly. That doesn't rule out doping, but I think it rules out "motorized" cheating. An SRM measures power through strain gauges in the cranks arms that detect deflection caused by pedalling forces. From what I understand of the alleged motor mechanism, it is inside the bottom bracket shell and should not cause any significant deflection in the crank arms.

 

[santacruz]

all they have to do is weigh the bikes.. surely the doped bike weighs quite a lot more than 15 lbs... perhaps 25lbs at least?? perhaps we should make it legal to use motorized doping? with some limitations, such as it has to be battery powered, and the motor must be concealed... it could make the stages even faster and more exciting, and everyone would be on a level playing field... also it would be a new exciting technology to grow through competition.

in the near future, when this technology is even more advanced, and the batteries are more efficient, are you going to buy the bike that is just like your last bike only different shaped carbon tubes, or are you going to buy the bike that lets you ride twice as fast??? but still looks just like a bicycle...

 

[yeti_cx]

i agree with everyone that the motor doping still seems unrealistic at this point, but i also agree with what was said as far as the dopers are always two steps ahead of the game. at the very least you have to admit that looked like a superhuman effort there.

to the point about epo will get you banned at least two years and as far as we know there has not been a set suspension for motor doping yet, i think a pro would be more willing to motor dope. and you would think with all this hype that motor doping is all but over with, but you know someone is going to get caught doing it a LOT sooner rather than later now. in all honestly i think its pretty trick. i cant wait to see the first bike that gets dissected with one of these just to show all you naive types just how much further advanced the pros stuff is compared to consumer level.

 

[Kender]

all they have to do is weigh the bikes.. surely the doped bike weighs quite a lot more than 15 lbs... perhaps 25lbs at least?? perhaps we should make it legal to use motorized doping? with some limitations, such as it has to be battery powered, and the motor must be concealed... it could make the stages even faster and more exciting, and everyone would be on a level playing field... also it would be a new exciting technology to grow through competition.

in the near future, when this technology is even more advanced, and the batteries are more efficient, are you going to buy the bike that is just like your last bike only different shaped carbon tubes, or are you going to buy the bike that lets you ride twice as fast??? but still looks just like a bicycle...

don't be stupid. racing bikes with motors is called motorcycle racing not bicycle racing

 

[Potomac]

This whole motorized business is only the tip of the iceberg.

It turns out these cycling races don't really happen, they are staged on a Hollywood set like the Apollo moon missions.

If you watch the videos closely you'll see all kinds of evidence that will prove they've all been faked.

 

[theswordsman]

You guys are all simply nuts and not very f*cking bright about it either. Any motor capable of assisting an already 700 to 1000 watt effort could not be concealed on a bike. Folks that have viewed the alleged "doped bike" noted it operated in the 100 watt range. You cannot simply add those "watts" onto a sudden human effort.

Chill pill, Old Man. The technology is there.

@Marco Pinotti on twitter

my feeling were correct RT @gregorbrown Motors in pro bikes is not just a rumour. I saw a version today. As bad as doping 12:53 AM May 28th via HTC Peep in reply to gregorbrown

Go tell Marco Pinotti that you know more about cycling than he does, and insult him the way you insulted people here.

It's like McQuaid saying that the battery would be the size of a bag of sugar.

I believe the technology exists, so watching the Paris-Roubaix attack gives me pause. Did he just switch to a higher gear?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QM_g...17EB84AD&playnext_from=PL&playnext=1&index=46

Whoa - I just clicked on my twitter link for the Paris-Roubaix bike change video and it's been taken down.

But he was in the pack at the time of the bike change. Here are a couple of snippets from the Cycling News live feed.

15:14 CEST Oh very bad news. Cancellara has punctured. No time to change tyres, he just gets a whole new bike. In no time flat he is back with the lead chase group.

"16:01 CEST Cancellara is pedalling like a machine through the dusty cobbled section." CN Paris-Roubaix live feed

Yeah. Then three minutes into this video from Flanders, he speeds away from Boonen, and by the time he makes the top of the climb, the helicopter has to go looking for Spartacus. Watch him fly past the motorcycle.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xn-oHTCgR84

For the people concerned about the noise, remember that there was only another rider near him for a few seconds - he wouldn't have turned it on until he was ready to solo away.


Here's the April 11 (Paris-Roubaix) Cyclismag story that was funny at the time:

Rumor Cancellara

Le secret de Fabian Cancellara ? The secret of Fabian Cancellara? A dynamo hidden in his pedal, allowing it to move faster. The fantasy is all the funnier it became in an uproar within the platoon. A French rider has reported to http://www.cyclismag.com this "noise" surprising. Those who really believe the arguments brandished as many changes as Cycling Cancellara operates at full speed. It is already more original than a suspicion of doping!

http://www.cyclismag.com/article.php?sid=5737

 

[royalpig180]

I watched the video of Cancellara's Roubaix attack (I watched it live online as well), and I don't see a rider who's using a motor.

It is clear that Cancellara is simply working much harder, pedaling at a much higher cadence than any of the riders he drops/passes. It is remarkable that anyone can sustain that level of power and effort for close to 50k as he did, but this is the world and olympic time trial champion we're talking about. Also, his chasers were probably demoralized rather quickly as his gap shot up.

 

[Escarabajo]

From what I've seen, Cancellara's SRM numbers from Flanders seem to match his performance perfectly. That doesn't rule out doping, but I think it rules out "motorized" cheating. An SRM measures power through strain gauges in the cranks arms that detect deflection caused by pedalling forces. From what I understand of the alleged motor mechanism, it is inside the bottom bracket shell and should not cause any significant deflection in the crank arms.

The gauges won't read the force from the motor. Only the Pedal force. Think about it.

The motor is geared to the center of the axel.

Do you notice any difference in the SRM from going from steel bearings to ceramic ones? That's calculated in the mechanical efficiency of the bike in the energy equation of the bicycling operation. In this case efficiency would be above 100% because of the motor assistance and less power would be logged by the legs. If I were to do the calculations in the computer I would have to use very high efficiencies.

 

[theswordsman]

At this point I'm not arguing that Cancellara cheated. He's one of my favorite riders. But as a cycling fan, I had suspicions at the end of both races with no thoughts of motors.

Right now I'm just trying to get people to believe, like L'Equipe and Patrick LeFevre do, that the technology exists that could help performance.

There's an event each year for cyclists with traditional electric bikes to tackle a famous climb. Last year they climbed Alpe d'Huez. Last weekend they did Mont Ventoux. I can't quickly find the original news story I read about it, with the variety of participants who would never reach the top without help. But here are links to another news story and the event website.

By the way, there are two or three earlier threads on the motorized bike.

http://www.caradisiac.com/La-Montee...que-a-l-epreuve-sur-le-Mont-Ventoux-56031.htm

http://www.la-montee-electrique.com/Ventoux/index.php

You can Google "La Montée Electrique 2010" for many more stories. All you need to help a pro bike is a smaller and lighter version, and money makes that possible.

Edit: evidence that motorized doping has been around longer than people think? 1:10 into the video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdLqrp12OvA

 

[Martin318is]

Two comments that suggest you don't need to put a motor in the bike to perform like Cancellara:

1969 Ronde van Vlaanderen. During the race, after Eddy's attack with 70 kms to go:

Guillaume Driessens (Faema DS) to Eddy: “Are you nuts? You'll die in the headwind, wait for the group!”

Eddy Merckx: "Go f*ck yourself!"

Merckx won with over 5 minutes on Gimondi (2nd).

and

It's horrible, he rides 5km per hour too fast for us. - Frans Verbeeck after losing the 1975 Tour of Flanders to Merckx.

So as a few have said - there may well have been something going on - just like there was at times with Merckx - but it wasn't a motor in the bike.

If nothing else, all you need to do is monitor Fabian's performances in the next 12months or so. If they start doing better reviews of the bikes and his performances die off then yes you might have a case. Bear in mind that there are many other legitimate reasons for a rider's form to drop over time and not recover.

 

[Maxiton]

This whole motorized business is only the tip of the iceberg.

It turns out these cycling races don't really happen, they are staged on a Hollywood set like the Apollo moon missions.

If you watch the videos closely you'll see all kinds of evidence that will prove they've all been faked.

You don't say? I knew it! LOL! You just made my night with that.

 

[Oldman]

Chill pill, Old Man. The technology is there.



Go tell Marco Pinotti that you know more about cycling than he does, and insult him the way you insulted people here.

It's like McQuaid saying that the battery would be the size of a bag of sugar.

I believe the technology exists, so watching the Paris-Roubaix attack gives me pause. Did he just switch to a higher gear?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QM_g...17EB84AD&playnext_from=PL&playnext=1&index=46

Whoa - I just clicked on my twitter link for the Paris-Roubaix bike change video and it's been taken down.

But he was in the pack at the time of the bike change. Here are a couple of snippets from the Cycling News live feed.



Yeah. Then three minutes into this video from Flanders, he speeds away from Boonen, and by the time he makes the top of the climb, the helicopter has to go looking for Spartacus. Watch him fly past the motorcycle.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xn-oHTCgR84

For the people concerned about the noise, remember that there was only another rider near him for a few seconds - he wouldn't have turned it on until he was ready to solo away.


Here's the April 11 (Paris-Roubaix) Cyclismag story that was funny at the time:


http://www.cyclismag.com/article.php?sid=5737

I almost think you're serious. Show me what technology exists.

 

[180mmCrank]

There is IMHO absolutely no chance that Cancellara would put a motor in his frame. I can't believe any of us really think he would do that... he looked so much better than everyone else because he is so much better than everyone else.

 

[Maxiton]

So as a few have said - there may well have been something going on - just like there was at times with Merckx - but it wasn't a motor in the bike.

If nothing else, all you need to do is monitor Fabian's performances in the next 12months or so. If they start doing better reviews of the bikes and his performances die off then yes you might have a case. Bear in mind that there are many other legitimate reasons for a rider's form to drop over time and not recover.

I remember reading a quote from a stunned rider during the Armstrong era, talking about how extraterrestrial Armstrong was, something to the effect of, "I was going full gas and saw something go by me out of the corner of my eye. I thought it was a motorcycle - but when I looked up it was Armstrong."

And no mythical motor in sight.

 

[Maxiton]

There is IMHO absolutely no chance that Cancellara would put a motor in his frame. I can't believe any of us really think he would do that... he looked so much better than everyone else because he is so much better than everyone else.

Tell that to this thread in the Clinic.

 

[180mmCrank]

Tell that to this thread in the Clinic.

It's not worth the effort - people believe what they want to believe. But I think there are some serious issues in the sport and this is not one of them in my opinion.

 

[frenchfry]

This was a headline story on French national news yesterday, as well as being reported on other variety shows (C à vous).

They showed the bike changes, incredible accelerations and FC pressing on a supposed button just before take-off.

Fabrication or reality, will we ever know the truth?

 

[Jamsque]

Wow, I didn't realise this was being taken so seriously.

 

[Michielveedeebee]

honestly, 2 words about this: absolute bullcrap.