Cycling's world governing body "carried out unannounced spot checks on around 90 bikes at the La Mediterraneenne stage race on Friday, but found no evidence of mechanical doping." The raids "came after a concealed engine was found in a bike" ridden by 19-year-old Belgian Femke Van den Driessche at the recent UCI Cyclo-cross world championships last month. It was the "first proven case of mechanical doping in elite cycling," although Den Driessche denied any wrongdoing, saying that "the bike did not belong to her" (REUTERS, 2/12). ... Pakistani umpire Asad Rauf was "handed a five-year ban" by the Board of Control for Cricket in India on Friday over his "involvement in an illegal betting scandal that blighted" the '13 Indian Premier League season. Controversy "plagued the sixth edition of the lucrative Twenty20 league" with former India paceman S. Sreesanth and two other Rajasthan cricketers arrested on "suspicion of accepting money to concede a fixed number of runs." All three were "given life bans by the BCCI" (REUTERS, 2/12).
