Brian Cookson flanked by UCI coordinator Peter Van den Abeele telling the world's cycling media that a motor was indeed found in the bike linked to Belgian and European champion Femke Van den Driessche.
Less than 24 hours after finding what it believed was bike doping in a bike at the World Cyclocross Championships the UCI has confirmed the sport’s worst fears.
The apparatus found secreted in the bike of 19-year-old Belgian and European U23 cyclocross champion Femke Van den Driessche has been confirmed a motor.
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That confirmation was delivered by UCI president Brian Cookson at a press conference on Sunday morning ahead of the men’s U23 and elite racing on the final day of the Worlds in Zolder.
The case is first known incident of mechanical or bike doping found in cycling.
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“It is no secret that a motor was found,” Cookson told the press conference.
"We believe that it was indeed technological doping. Throughout the 2015 season, we carried out unannounced bike checks at major road events and we will conduct similar controls throughout the 2016 season.
“We have introduced in 2015 a set of regulations that enables us to take action.
“We’ve been trialling new methods of detection but you’ll understand why I don’t want to go into details of those methods.
“To all the people who want to cheat, yesterday we sent a clear message: we will catch you and we will punish you because our technology to detect such fraud seems to work,” he added.
Cookson later took to Twitter with further comment: “Technological fraud is unacceptable. We want the minority who may consider cheating to know that, increasingly,” he stated.
“There is no place to hide, and sooner or later they will pay for the damage they’re causing to our sport.”
Journalist saw what happened
Sporza journalist Martin Vangramberen had on Saturday outlined what he said took place.
His account suggests that new checks introduced by the UCI using hand held electronic tablets flagged the bike as suspicious.
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“After one lap the UCI checked Femke’s bike in the pits with some kind of tablet. The bike was immediately sealed and taken away,” he said.
“When the saddle of the tube was removed there were electrical cables coming from the tube,” he continued.
“When they wanted to remove the crankshaft, something that is normally easy, it was not possible because the crankshaft was stuck. The motor was in there.”
He said he saw the director of the Belgian federation in tears.
The rider’s father said his daughter had won not only the Belgian title but also the European crown and said it made no sense that she would use bike doping for the Worlds.
He denied any wrongdoing on the part of his daughter and said the bike in question was not her’s and was never intended to be used in Saturday’s race at the Worlds.
Rider was star aged just 19 years
As the European U23 champion, Femke Van den Driessche went into the inaugural U23 women’s Worlds cyclocross title race as one of the favourites.
But she suffered mechanical problems at the start before falling back and again being plagued with further problems on the penultimate lap.
Femke Van den Driessche of the Belgian national team abandoning the Worlds at the start of the last lap, with the bomb having already gone off in the pits.
She withdrew from the race as she was about to begin the final 3km circuit, with the controversy that has engulf her and those around her already well underway at the side of the course.
Bike manufacturer Wilier Triestina supplies bikes to the rider via its sponsorship of her trade team Kleur op Maat and its chief executive, Andrea Gastaldello, issued a statement on the controversy.
“We are literally stunned, as the main technical partner, it seems only right to distance (ourselves) from this gesture very much in contrast with the basic values of our company, and with the principles behind every sporting competition.
“(It is) really unacceptable that in these hours the picture of our bikes is doing the rounds of international media because of this unfortunate fact.
“We work daily to bring to the world the quality of our products and knowing that a Wilier Triestina bike is meanly tampered saddens us very much.
“Our society reserves to take legal action against the athlete and (anyone) responsible for this very serious matter, in order to safeguard the good name and image of the company which is marked by professionalism and seriousness in 110 years of history.”
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