Belgian rider Femke Van den Driessche pulled out of her race at the world cyclocross cycling titles with a mechanical problem, but afterwards authorities discovered a motor inside her bike. (image via abc.net.au)
In the world of cycling the most ignominious event to occur has been Lance Armstrong juicing his way to seven consecutive Tour de France titles from 1999-2005, each of which he was retroactively stripped of after acquiescing to 2012 charges of using performance-enhancing drugs. But a new “technological doping” scandal is making its way through the cycling ranks, and could have a bigger effect on the sport than Mr. Armstrong’s maligned actions ever did.
So what exactly is this “technological doping” that is wreaking havoc on the reputation of cyclists across the globe? Well, apparently everything that happened with Lance Armstrong steered cyclists away from enhancing themselves, so they’ve moved on to upgrading the next best thing: the bicycles they ride. Cyclists have gone about doping their bicycles by hiding motors on parts of their bikes (19-year-old cyclist Femke van den Driessche, from Belgium was recently found to have a motor in her bike), which — as you can likely imagine — is very, very illegal. There are various ways in which a cyclist can taint their bicycle by adding a motor to it, but no matter where the motor is placed or how well it is hidden, it affords said cyclist an obvious advantage over their competition because… well, motors will be tough to compete against.
Although this is the first time that a scandal such as “technological doping” has rocked the cycling world, it is absolutely not the first time athletes have gone about cheating by modifying something other than their bodies. In the 2015 NFL Playoffs, just over a year ago, the entire New England Patriots organization came under immense fire for what was ultimately known known as Deflategate (or Ballghazi, depending on where you look). Deflategate was a debacle that witnessed the Patriots intentionally keeping footballs under-inflated for the 2015 AFC Championship Game, which took place in Massachusetts and witnessed the Patriots throttle the Colts 45-7. Alas, despite clear involvement and intentional wrongdoing, neither the Patriots nor Tom Brady were punished with regards to Deflategate — although that likely says more about the NFL than anyone else.
Somewhat longer ago, towards the end of the 2010 MLB regular season, a situation similar to Deflategate was prevalent in the baseball universe. Tim Lincecum of the San Francisco Giants accused the Colorado Rockies of “juicing” the baseballs given to visiting pitchers, and despite MLB never finding proof that the Rockies had “juiced” their baseballs, MLB took steps to ensure no cheating was involved.
The Rockies’ “juiced” baseballs, Deflategate, and now the “technological doping” scandal in the cycling world all reveal a few things about athletes and they way they want to compete. First thing: athletes absolutely want to cheat — and that will always be an element of professional sports regardless. Second thing: athletes are ready and willing to find unconventional ways to go about cheating, and have now gone as far as hiding motors in bicycles. As technology — especially in the sports world — continues to advance at an exponential rate, it will be interesting to see what new loopholes professionals discover to go about getting the upper hand on their competition.
