Video Toms Skujiņš spinning wheel at Tour de France
If you’re on social media, you’ll have seen videos doing the rounds of Tour de France king of the mountains Toms Skujiņš.
The 27-year-old Latvian came down in the same crash as Dan Martin on stage 8 two days ago.
His bike, specifically the movement of his back wheel, has been the subject of great debate on social media.
Video clips of his wheel spinning while the bike is stationery have proven great fodder for those who believe mechanical doping – hidden motors or magnet-based devices in wheels – are rife in the peloton.
A hidden motor, or illegally modified wheel, has never been found in pro cycling. But the UCI is still checking for them.
Developments in E-bike technology in recent years definitely make this form of cheating more possible.
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There has been one case of a hidden motor in international cyclocross racing - which you can read about here.
And there's been a small number of known incidents of hidden motors in amateur cycling, one of which you can read about here.
In the Tour de France stage 8 incident, Toms Skujiņš falls off his bike and then picks himself up, gets his bike sorted out, and gets going again.
When he is gathering himself after the crash, his bike is pointed in the wrong way. Because of that, the Trek-Segafredo rider lifts the back end of it and whips it around so it’s facing in the right direction.
Some of those commenting on social media have noted the way his back wheel spins very quickly immediately he lifts his back wheel off the ground.
A large number of video clips – all from the same angle – have been shared online; with others then weighing in to offer their views.
We are normally loath to add to these debates – which are based on a little bit of information (always a dangerous thing).
But this particular conversation has gone viral even though there is a very clear explanation, we believe, for the wheel spinning.
Let us explain what we mean
The weakness of the TV clip is that Toms Skujiņš is off camera for the few seconds immediately before his wheel spins.
It’s a classic case of footage of only part of an incident being shared and conclusions being extrapolated.
However, what hasn’t been pointed out is that Skujiņš’s crash was also captured in on-board footage. And, crucially, the aftermath of the crash is also recorded in the on-board clip.
There’s two video clips below. The first is the clip that has been shared over and over again on social media – the TV clip.
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The second is a the relevant section of the on-board footage; the moments just after the crash.
The first video is pretty straightforward; you see Skujiņš holding up the back end of his bike as he whips the bike around to face in the right direction.
All the while the rear wheel is spinning. At first glance it may look like he’s lifted the back wheel off the ground and it begins spinning.
This is Toms Skujiņš in the Velon clip. This is the moment after the crash in which he is fixing his bike; putting his chain back on, turning his pedals and so moving his rear wheel.
The second clip below is from the on-board video of the crash. It has zoomed in on Toms Skujiņš as he gets his bike fixed up after the crash.
Skujiņš is visible bending over his bike putting his chain back on. He lifts the back of the bike from the saddle with his left hand.
And with his right hand he pushes his right pedal around to ensure the chain goes back on.
He then whips the bike around to face in the right direction. And he doesn’t put the rear wheel back on the ground.
So when the wheel comes into view in the regular TV coverage, it is spinning from Skujiņš having just put the chain back on.
The trouble with the TV coverage is that it shows only a tiny fraction of the whole incident.
Some people have also commented on how fast the wheel is spinning. But we don’t think it’s spinning that fast.
If it was, the white logos on the rear wheel rim/tyre wouldn’t be visible. Also notice how immediately the back wheel is put back onto the road, it just stops dead.
If a motor was pushing this wheel forward, surely the bike jerk forward, even a little, from the pressure of a motor.
Het bewijs dat er niks aan de hand is met de fiets van Tomas Skuijns. Via @TomEnthoven en @LarsvanSoest pic.twitter.com/t8lWdkYrvG
— Raymond Kerckhoffs (@raykerckhoffs) July 16, 2018
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