The doped bike exists (video of pro version)!

[Anonymous]

Okay, so I did an informal time check from the bend where Spartacus attacked to the last bend before the top. I used the only videos I could find that showed the sequence, and my time is probably + or - 2 seconds. Very unscientific. The timing for all 3 was from the point of Spartacus' attack this year, to a point on the wall covered by the same camera angle on the last curve before the top.

05 - Boonen did that section in 33 seconds ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4395zFPIYAo )
09- Devolder did it in about 33 seconds ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umYXl5gOev4 )
10- Boonen did the same stretch in 37 seconds. You cannot see when Spartacus goes by the last curve from the top, but if you time Boonen from the curb at 2:56 of this video ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKjBnjLtXhE ) to the same basic point on the curve just before the top, it took him 13 seconds. They both started at the same point for timing purposes at 2:33 on that video. Spartacus went from the same point I timed Boonen (the 13 second section at the end) at 2:52 (4 seconds faster than Boonen) Now, if you are conservative in timing, you could say that Spartacus covered the last timing section (the one that took Boonen 13 seconds) in 11 seconds because he is clearly accelerating away. That would mean that Spartacus hit that spot around 3:03.

It appears that:
1: Boonen was slower than usual through that section.
2. Spartacus, based on timing did it in around 30 seconds give or take a second or two. I would think that was well within his capacity without a motor. It is however, CLEARLY faster than any of the other three.

 

[Winterfold]

This is a very amusing and at times quite technically possible scenario - but who really believes he would do it?

I just don't, its not that he is a nice guy etc but just that he doesn't need to, and I cannot see what satisifaction he would derive from cheating so comprehensively. I wonder how many watts in the final hour the Saxobank team were worth because of their efforts in the first 200km?

A sophisticated programme is OK, its fair because Tommeke will have the same.

The Riis/remote control hypothesis is sooo funny, but like the best satire has more truth. 'Wow Bjarne - those lucky dice worked just like you said' 'Yes Fabian, you ARE Spartacus remember, now throw away that bidon, and meet these potential sponsors...'

 

[chrismartinol]

http://cyclismag.com/article.php?sid=5844#ancre1

Arrêts sur images du Muur de Grammont

En pleine polémique sur le moteur caché dans le pédalier et les soupçons qui pèsent sur les victoires de Fabian Cancellara, http://www.cyclismag.com a eu envie de comparer les montées du Muur de Grammont des trois derniers Tour des Flandres. Les trois fois, les coureurs ont escaladé cette bosse sur pavés secs. Pour comparer les temps, nous avons utilisé le chronomètre du lecteur de Dailymotion. C'est sans doute une fausse horloge mais elle est également fausse pour les trois années, de la même manière qu'on peut peser des différence de masse sur une balance fausse.
En 2008, Devolder passe le Muur sur un rythme régulier puisqu'il est seul en tête. Par contre, derrière ça attaque. A commencer par Flecha (voir l'image) et Nuyens (voir l'image). Au pignon de la maison blanche qui sert de café, les images télévisées ne permettent pas de voir le passage exact de Flecha mais Nuyens et Boonen l'ont pratiquement rejoint (voir l'image). Ce qui donne un temps d'environ 28" pour Flecha et d'environ 23"-24" pour Nuyens et Boonen.
En 2009, Devolder passe à l'attaque dans le Muur (voir ici) et passe au pignon du café (voir ici) environ 23 secondes plus tard.
Venons en à 2010. Après le virage (voir ici), Fabian Cancellara accélère pour passer au pignon (voir ici) en 19" environ. Tom Boonen (voir l’image) avec environ 24", est dans les temps des meilleurs des années passées.
Attention, tous ces pointages sont approximatifs et ne prouvent absolument rien, sauf que Fabian Cancellara est allé très vite dans le passage le plus raide du Muur de Grammont.

 

[Anonymous]

Okay, so I did an informal time check from the bend where Spartacus attacked to the last bend before the top. I used the only videos I could find that showed the sequence, and my time is probably + or - 2 seconds. Very unscientific. The timing for all 3 was from the point of Spartacus' attack this year, to a point on the wall covered by the same camera angle on the last curve before the top.

05 - Boonen did that section in 33 seconds ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4395zFPIYAo )
09- Devolder did it in about 33 seconds ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umYXl5gOev4 )
10- Boonen did the same stretch in 37 seconds. You cannot see when Spartacus goes by the last curve from the top, but if you time Boonen from the curb at 2:56 of this video ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKjBnjLtXhE ) to the same basic point on the curve just before the top, it took him 13 seconds. They both started at the same point for timing purposes at 2:33 on that video. Spartacus went from the same point I timed Boonen (the 13 second section at the end) at 2:52 (4 seconds faster than Boonen) Now, if you are conservative in timing, you could say that Spartacus covered the last timing section (the one that took Boonen 13 seconds) in 11 seconds because he is clearly accelerating away. That would mean that Spartacus hit that spot around 3:03.

It appears that:
1: Boonen was slower than usual through that section.
2. Spartacus, based on timing did it in around 30 seconds give or take a second or two. I would think that was well within his capacity without a motor. It is however, CLEARLY faster than any of the other three.

I was standing at the crest of the Kappelmuur on the left hand side as the riders came up. I could not see the attack as it happened about 150m down the Muur. Cancellara had right at 10 seconds on Boonen at that point (watching the second hand on my watch). From your measurement that puts Cancellara's time at about 27 or 28 seconds for that section.

Another interesting comparison might be from the crest of the Muur to the finish in Ninove. Cancellara was hauling...

I hope that helps.

 

[First up]

This is a very amusing and at times quite technically possible scenario - but who really believes he would do it?

I just don't, its not that he is a nice guy etc but just that he doesn't need to, and I cannot see what satisifaction he would derive from cheating so comprehensively.

Yeah it's a different type of cheating alright. I wonder how they could justify it to themselves. At least with doping the riders can take some satisfaction from their body performing the job. I just don't understand how a rider could live with themselves if they had a motor bike doing it for them.

 

[Polish]

How about if they allow Clean Riders to use the motor assist bici's?
Tune the motor for the 10-20% increase or whatever.

A rider would have to pass stringent lie detector tests and also sign an agreement to leave the sport if they dope and motor too.

Lie detector tests out of competition.
Lie detector tests as often or moreso than BioPassport testing.

Level the playing field. Heck, why dope?

 

[Anonymous]

I was standing at the crest of the Kappelmuur on the left hand side as the riders came up. I could not see the attack as it happened about 150m down the Muur. Cancellara had right at 10 seconds on Boonen at that point (watching the second hand on my watch). From your measurement that puts Cancellara's time at about 27 or 28 seconds for that section.

Another interesting comparison might be from the crest of the Muur to the finish in Ninove. Cancellara was hauling...

I hope that helps.

The shot that still causes me to pause is the point where Boonen crests, and the camera pans to Cancellara...who is much farther up the road than the cameraman or anyone else watching would have expected. If indeed his time was in the 27 or 28 second range, that would suggest to me that maybe there could have been something more nefarious going on. I guess we will never know because if that frame was motorized, it is specks of carbon somewhere now. I guess we will have to wait until next year and see if we get a chance to time him on the same section on the attack.

 

[la.margna]

The shot that still causes me to pause is the point where Boonen crests, and the camera pans to Cancellara...who is much farther up the road than the cameraman or anyone else watching would have expected. If indeed his time was in the 27 or 28 second range, that would suggest to me that maybe there could have been something more nefarious going on. I guess we will never know because if that frame was motorized, it is specks of carbon somewhere now. I guess we will have to wait until next year and see if we get a chance to time him on the same section on the attack.

That's the only chance. as he said that he wants to win every monument once and he will start to focus on LBL and Lombardia, he might have a good excuse with regard to the Tour of Flanders 2011 and following... Let's hope not.

 

[RigelKent]

Another thread pointed to this
http://cyclismag.com/article.php?sid=5844#ancre1

Highlights: They analyze video and get, between two points
In 2008, approximately 28" for Flecha and approximately 23" - 24" for Nuyens and Boonen.
In 2009, Devolder approximately 23 seconds.
in 2010, Cancellara in 19" approximately. Tom Boonen approximately 24"

 

[Cozy Beehive]

Okay, this video I knew was coming. The light side of the controversy..complete with sound effects. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMFoDWrKAiM I tried not to laugh...

 

[RigelKent]

Not high quality, but the humor is still well appreciated here.

Gruber Assist website is down. Think they might be getting a few more hits than normal?

 

[Cozy Beehive]

Not high quality, but the humor is still well appreciated here.

Gruber Assist website is down. Think they might be getting a few more hits than normal?

Did you see that second bike change? Boy I'm curious why he bent down and looked at the cassette, if all he wanted was a lighter bike for the climb. It looks sort of like its staged.

 

[Parrot23]

Did you see that second bike change? Boy I'm curious why he bent down and looked at the cassette, if all he wanted was a lighter bike for the climb. It looks sort of like its staged.

Yeah, he was getting ready for 14,000 feet of climbing at Mendrisio and mixing it up with the Spanish climbers.

 

[Wheels Go Round and Round]

Another thread pointed to this
http://cyclismag.com/article.php?sid=5844#ancre1

Highlights: They analyze video and get, between two points
In 2008, approximately 28" for Flecha and approximately 23" - 24" for Nuyens and Boonen.
In 2009, Devolder approximately 23 seconds.
in 2010, Cancellara in 19" approximately. Tom Boonen approximately 24"

about 21% faster.............hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

 

[theswordsman]

While Pat McQuaid tries to give the illusion of clean cycling by saying the battery would be the size of a sugar bag, the UCI's tech expert says, well, I'll let him say it:

For the UCI, however, there is no 'if Cancellara', says Jean Wauthier, the technical and material responsibility of the international body. "There is no investigation. But it is clear that we must accelerate our project to scan the bikes, because today we talk about batteries, but we know that it is already experimenting with photovoltaic tiles that can transform sunlight into energy."

http://www.marca.com/2010/06/02/ciclismo/1275507665.html

 

[mikkemus23]

While Pat McQuaid tries to give the illusion of clean cycling by saying the battery would be the size of a sugar bag, the UCI's tech expert says, well, I'll let him say it:



http://www.marca.com/2010/06/02/ciclismo/1275507665.html

Just wow. Are we in reality seeing sunMoto GP?

 

[dgduris]

Motorized DOPING?

Only a sport that is hell bent on ruining itself would call this "m' doping" so that the uneducated sporting media can jump on the opportunity to gleefully announce another doping scandal in professional cycling.

 

[M Sport]

Only a sport that is hell bent on ruining itself would call this "m' doping" so that the uneducated sporting media can jump on the opportunity to gleefully announce another doping scandal in professional cycling.

Yeah, seems a strange description to me. When F1 or WRC teams get caught cheating you don't hear them say the cars were doped.

Which brings me to an interesting point. Let's assume for the purpose of this argument there was a motor in the bike, and Saxo Bank got caught.

Do you think the UCI would have the balls to hand out a ban to Saxo Bank like they have done to Toyota in WRC, and countless teams and managers in F1 over the years? I think not.

 

[theswordsman]

Cassani was the guy who came forward and said he had seen Rassmussen in Italy at a time he claimed to be in Mexico. It got him kicked out of the Tour by his own team. They seemed to think he had credibility, and the UCI is bringing him to the meeting.

Following rumours that professionals are secretively using motorised bicycles, the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) will meet on Monday at its headquarters in Aigle, Switzerland.

UCI President Pat McQuaid told La Gazzetta dello Sport that the UCI's experts and representatives from some bike manufacturers will discuss the plausibility that battery-powered bicycles are in use.

An article in Italian newspaper Il Giornale on May 18 brought the case to public attention. One week later, May 26, Rai television commentator and ex-professional Davide Cassani showed a motorised bicycle after Giro d'Italia stage 18. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IaVcb0iTRFo)

"I tried it and I can say that if I raced with this bike I could win a stage of the Giro d'Italia, even if I am 50 years old," said Cassani. "It is impressive. I could go 50km/h without any fatigue."

Cassani helped bust Michael Rasmussen in a whereabouts case when he identified the Danish cyclist training in Italy prior to the 2007 Tour de France. McQuaid also thinks Cassani may be helpful in the UCI's investigation and he asked Cassani to join the meeting on Monday.

http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/news...ets-to-investigate-motorised-bike-rumour.html

 

[Stelvioclimber]

Surely tapping on the fram would reveal whether it´s hollow or pretty much solid because theirs a sodding engine in the seatpost. And as for the remote control, don´t be silly.

 

[Tyler'sTwin]

I find it incredible that loose accussations from some random guy on youtube is all it takes for the UCI to investigate Spartacus. If I claim that AC must be doping because he averaged 6.7 w/kg up Verbier, will they investigate him?

Oh, and apparently, Random guy on Youtube > Floyd Landis.

Edit: Sorry, I was fooled by some moronic journalist. Didn't realize they were going to investigate mechanical doping in general and not Spartacus.

 

[CycloErgoSum]

stop calling him spartacus. The guy's already a pontificating big head

 

[Wheels Go Round and Round]

Yeah, seems a strange description to me. When F1 or WRC teams get caught cheating you don't hear them say the cars were doped.

Which brings me to an interesting point. Let's assume for the purpose of this argument there was a motor in the bike, and Saxo Bank got caught.

Do you think the UCI would have the balls to hand out a ban to Saxo Bank like they have done to Toyota in WRC, and countless teams and managers in F1 over the years? I think not.

I'm involved with motorized racing and cheating goes on here just like everywhere else. Big budgets are used to get the latest technology just like bike racing. Making a motorized unit to fit in a bike is no big deal. The stuff done in NASCAR etc makes this childs play. Now that the secret is out hiding it will be impossible.

 

[Anonymous]

I'm involved with motorized racing and cheating goes on here just like everywhere else. Big budgets are used to get the latest technology just like bike racing. Making a motorized unit to fit in a bike is no big deal. The stuff done in NASCAR etc makes this childs play. Now that the secret is out hiding it will be impossible.

This thread is awsome. No way this was used? Anything is possible.

 

[Cozy Beehive]

This thread is awesome.

Feel free to give it 5 stars.

The story is nothing short of fascinating, really, whether its conspiracy or not.