Motor doping thread

[Tienus]

Re:

It should have serious consequences for the UCI as well if it turns out, as looks increasingly likely to be the case, they have been rather economical with the truth (the confiscated bike not being the bike raced, and so on, when it's abundantly clear that the bike which drew Kaptheijns' and Stultiens' comments was definitely the one raced at Zolder). Rudy de Bie can at least try to feign ignorance.

It should, however you will not find a statement either written or verbal by the UCI that the bike confiscated had not been raced at the wc in Zolder.

 

[Tienus]

Re:

Did she actually ride the bike during the race or was the bike just in the her pit?

The bike she was riding during the race was the bike that many (including the UCI) in the cyclocrossworld where suspiscious about. The initial news was that the UCI did random checks and found the bike but later the UCI confirmed they where tipped off. Reporters, journalists and Femke's entourage claim the bike confiscated has not been used during the race and was taken from her pits.

 

[carolina]

thank you

 

[Irondan]

Re: Re:

I don't know, it could have gone two ways. Was it an offer she couldn't refuse? I'm not convinced there's that much that she or her entourage would have known that could have been wanted hidden. Difficult to imagine too many people sharing secrets with them other than other small fry, so not much ground she can raze. The alternative, given the reason she gives, is that the UCI obviously knew that the van den Driessches aren't going to be able to face down the cost (especially as they have another case pending in the family of course) so, although hardly stratospheric, the cost of fighting it would be too much unless they come quietly and quickly. Besides, we know from Menchov, Barredo and Hoste that just taking voluntary retirement doesn't mean the UCI won't slap on its own entirely pointless suspension afterwards.

The life ban proposed is, of course, entirely pointless anyway, any suspension of any substantial length or fine of substantial value would have played out the same way. She's got way too much baggage to have returned regardless. Therefore calling for a life suspension for somebody who's already unwelcome and obviously can't afford to fight their case even if they had one is just the UCI flexing its muscles rather pointlessly, just like quietly erasing Barredo's results long after they'd hounded him from the sport.

At least now a precedent is set.

Which is to quit the sport if caught with a motor.

Have the UCI actually handed down a lifetime ban?

Wonder how many motors are being used in granfondos.....

One that I know of.....

 

[Benotti69]

Re: Re:

I don't know, it could have gone two ways. Was it an offer she couldn't refuse? I'm not convinced there's that much that she or her entourage would have known that could have been wanted hidden. Difficult to imagine too many people sharing secrets with them other than other small fry, so not much ground she can raze. The alternative, given the reason she gives, is that the UCI obviously knew that the van den Driessches aren't going to be able to face down the cost (especially as they have another case pending in the family of course) so, although hardly stratospheric, the cost of fighting it would be too much unless they come quietly and quickly. Besides, we know from Menchov, Barredo and Hoste that just taking voluntary retirement doesn't mean the UCI won't slap on its own entirely pointless suspension afterwards.

The life ban proposed is, of course, entirely pointless anyway, any suspension of any substantial length or fine of substantial value would have played out the same way. She's got way too much baggage to have returned regardless. Therefore calling for a life suspension for somebody who's already unwelcome and obviously can't afford to fight their case even if they had one is just the UCI flexing its muscles rather pointlessly, just like quietly erasing Barredo's results long after they'd hounded him from the sport.

At least now a precedent is set.

Which is to quit the sport if caught with a motor.

Have the UCI actually handed down a lifetime ban?

Wonder how many motors are being used in granfondos.....

One that I know of.....

Bet Femke would get a good price for her bike......you like Wilier Irondan?

 

[Tienus]

Bet Femke would get a good price for her bike

I think Femke's bike (the Bianchi with the swollen downtube in Willier colors) has gone through the crusher allready. No trial means no pictures and no evidence of the confiscated bike. As I posted before there's a good chance the UCI confiscated the bike while Femke was running with it on or just after the finish straight.

 

[Tienus]

We all know about omerta. This case is a classic example of how the press does not want to break the code. There are many journalist that know about the strange looking bike yet no one reports that this is the bike she was actually racing.

On page 20 of this thread I posted this:
Spot the difference on the frame in these pictures:
http://s3.nieuwsbladcdn.be/Assets/Images_Upload/2015/02/18/cd71a9b0-b769-11e4-a8c0-abf7dfebd1f7_original.jpg?scale=both&format=jpg
http://ciclicornale.altervista.org/wilier/telaio_ciclocross_carbon_disc.jpg

This was a tweet from Thijs Zonneveld (ex pro rider now journalist). I did not at the time but with the knowledge I have now about Femke's bikes I understand why he posted it. The tweed quickly dissapaered from his timeline.

 

[sniper]

Re:

We all know about omerta. This case is a classic example of how the press does not want to break the code. There are many journalist that know about the strange looking bike yet no one reports that this is the bike she was actually racing.

On page 20 of this thread I posted this:
Spot the difference on the frame in these pictures:
http://s3.nieuwsbladcdn.be/Assets/Images_Upload/2015/02/18/cd71a9b0-b769-11e4-a8c0-abf7dfebd1f7_original.jpg?scale=both&format=jpg
http://ciclicornale.altervista.org/wilier/telaio_ciclocross_carbon_disc.jpg

This was a tweet from Thijs Zonneveld (ex pro rider now journalist). I did not at the time but with the knowledge I have now about Femke's bikes I understand why he posted it. The tweed quickly dissapaered from his timeline.

what tweet? I see nothing.

 

[classicomano]

So since there are all these rumors that this thing has been going on for years, do we have some names that we can suspect? I was thinking of Moreno Moser and Matthew Goss myself.

 

[Tienus]

@sniper
The two links to the pictures where part of the tweet from Thijs. He was showing the difference of the Willier frame and Femke's frame. The next day the tweet had disapaered.

 

[sniper]

Re:

@sniper
The two links to the pictures where part of the tweet from Thijs. He was showing the difference of the Willier frame and Femke's frame. The next day the tweet had disapaered.

understood, cheers!

 

[Tienus]

I was wrong with regards to Thijs. I thought he must have had inside info from the cx scene but he seemed to get a tip from a comment on strava.
http://www.strava.com/activities/483516174#11604498844

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Re:

Bet Femke would get a good price for her bike

I think Femke's bike (the Bianchi with the swollen downtube in Willier colors) has gone through the crusher allready. No trial means no pictures and no evidence of the confiscated bike. As I posted before there's a good chance the UCI confiscated the bike while Femke was running with it on or just after the finish straight.

But there's still the Koppenbergcross bike with its more standard frame, no? Unless there really was only one motor that was switched from bike to bike.

 

[Tienus]

But there's still the Koppenbergcross bike with its more standard frame, no? Unless there really was only one motor that was switched from bike to bike.

Yes there are at least two other standard frames involved in the fraud. I reckon they would be less valuable though. The handcrafted version would be much more desirable as a collectors item due to its uniqueness.

 

[blackcat]

Re:

Bet Femke would get a good price for her bike

I think Femke's bike (the Bianchi with the swollen downtube in Willier colors) has gone through the crusher allready. No trial means no pictures and no evidence of the confiscated bike. As I posted before there's a good chance the UCI confiscated the bike while Femke was running with it on or just after the finish straight.

if someone tells me I have a tumescent downtube, I have a different interpretation

 

[blackcat]

Re:

So since there are all these rumors that this thing has been going on for years, do we have some names that we can suspect? I was thinking of Moreno Moser and Matthew Goss myself.

Goss just lost his edge. he has the regular Australian thing. He was phenomenal in his espoir years in Varese, and his first years with High Road, he was beating Petacchi when Petacchi was at his best when he was 22.

 

[Cloxxki]

I seemed to see a difference in top tubes. Oh well...

 

[King Of Molehill]

Not sure if the bike is regulation but, looks like a future TDF winner to me!

 

[Catwhoorg]

Re:

Not sure if the bike is regulation but, looks like a future TDF winner to me!

Sky taking the Skyborg to the next level I see

 

[zigmeister]

^^OMG, thanks for that much appreciated laugh. That is a pretty cool robot. Love the wave.

 

[zigmeister]

Kind of absurd to think Cancellera would have a motor, and still insist on mech DuraAce, which lost him the race the other day standing on the side of the road for 5 min waiting for a bike swap.

 

[StryderHells]

Re:

Kind of absurd to think Cancellera would have a motor, and still insist on mech DuraAce, which lost him the race the other day standing on the side of the road for 5 min waiting for a bike swap.

Wasn't he riding SRAM during the years of the suspicious performances?
Anyway it doesn't matter if he did have a motor and rides mechanical, the motorized part would most likely be in the BB so it's all hidden, weren't Femke's bikes "mechanical"?

 

[Maxiton]

Re:

Not sure if the bike is regulation but, looks like a future TDF winner to me!

Looks like he'd do well in the classics, too. And I'll his bloodstream is cleans. Needs to speed up his cadence, though.

 

[meat puppet]

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/mechanical-doping-used-in-strade-bianche-and-coppi-e-bartali-claims-investigation/

 

[DFA123]

Re:

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/mechanical-doping-used-in-strade-bianche-and-coppi-e-bartali-claims-investigation/

Quite some claims in that article. Let's hope they name names and have some concrete proof - otherwise it's not really adding anything that isn't already suspected.