A Movistar team car pulled in by the side of the road mid-stage at the Vuelta and shouts at this mechanic to "hide the bike" where nobody would see it.
The Spanish WorldTour team Movistar has dismissed speculation that an unusual video featuring some of its staff was part of a cover-up to hide a bike with a motor installed.
The team said there was a simple mechanical and commercial explanation for the behaviour of its soigneur and mechanic on the Vuelta, dismissing any notion of bike doping.
The allegations, and short video filmed by a fan, first surfaced in La Gazzetto dello Sport.
The clip below shows the Movistar team car pulling in by the side of the road on stage 9 to Cumbre del Sol last week.
Imanol Erviti had crashed and cracked the seat tube of his Canyon bike.
Advertisement
Team mechanic Thomas Amezaga came upon the scene of the crash and grabbed a new bike to get the rider underway again.
He then gave a team soigneur the broken bike further up the road, taking it down from the team car roof rack and telling him to “hide the bike” where nobody would see it.
When the clip emerged, there was intense speculation the team was up to no good and may have been trying to evade post stage checks for small motors in bikes.
However, the mechanic involved has dismissed the speculation, saying three riders crashed, with each breaking their bikes.
Related News
“We had Erviti’s spare bike in the car," he explained.
"When we arrived, another (rider) was helping, but I gave Erviti his spare bike because his bike was broken on the seat tube. No problem, I gave him a new bike.
“It’s normal when a bike is broken to put the bike inside the car because if the photographers take shots it can be a problem for the sponsors.
“For us, it’s normal to change the bike and to put the bike in the car and take it to the hotel because the frame is broken and for the sponsor, it’s important that the bike is not seen.”
"Hide the bike" clip
Topics
