Motorized doping

[oldpotatoe]

https://cyclingtips.com/2017/10/exposed-hidden-motor-used-french-amateur

Cyril F. was arrested on Sunday and taken to the Périgueux police station. He faces charges of sporting fraud. He has reportedly admitted fitting the motor to his bike. The video below is another France3 report showing his arrest and also images of him racing on the bike in question beforehand.

Wow arrested...

[AngryScientist]

incredible.

i like the part of the story where he makes incredible gains on the bike once he got rid of his expensive S-Works. haha.

i get that people like this are a little "off", but i wonder if you can truly be proud of a victory that you know is clearly fraud.

[oldpotatoe]

incredible.

i like the part of the story where he makes incredible gains on the bike once he got rid of his expensive S-Works. haha.

i get that people like this are a little "off", but i wonder if you can truly be proud of a victory that you know is clearly fraud.

Same line, I just watched 'Icarus'...and honestly don't get what the guy was trying to do. Fogel. He 'said' he wanted to uncover how easy it was to beat doping controls but he seems like he wants to justify a potentially better result in the Haute Route race..since he insists the top ten are doping anyway(and probably are)...then the whole story goes down the rabbit hole..worth what I paid for watching it(Netflix)...

[AngryScientist]

Same line, I just watched 'Icarus'...and honestly don't get what the guy was trying to do. Fogel. He 'said' he wanted to uncover how easy it was to beat doping controls but he seems like he wants to justify a potentially better result in the Haute Route race..since he insists the top ten are doping anyway(and probably are)...then the whole story goes down the rabbit hole..worth what I paid for watching it(Netflix)...

i agree, and i felt the same way.

i concede that if you're a professional bike racer, getting paid based on results and under enormous pressures to perform at a high level, that is something outside of my experience level and i dont pretend to understand what those guys go through and the decisions they make.

but doping as an amateur, blood or motor? that's just nuts-O; IMO.

[bicycletricycle]

Same line, I just watched 'Icarus'...and honestly don't get what the guy was trying to do. Fogel. He 'said' he wanted to uncover how easy it was to beat doping controls but he seems like he wants to justify a potentially better result in the Haute Route race..since he insists the top ten are doping anyway(and probably are)...then the whole story goes down the rabbit hole..worth what I paid for watching it(Netflix)...

I think he was just really curious about what it took and how much he might gain. I really enjoyed the part when his di2 battery ran out and he lost ten places. If you are going to spend tens of thousands of dollars and risk jail time to dope, make sure your bike is working people ! :)

[oldpotatoe]

I think he was just really curious about what it took and how much he might gain. I really enjoyed the part when his di2 battery ran out and he lost ten places. If you are going to spend tens of thousands of dollars and risk jail time to dope, make sure your bike is working people ! :)

BUT would he have been arrested(in the US)? Was the Russian guy authorized to write Rx's? But yup, all this and then he forgot to charge his battery..another vote for mechanical stuff, well maintained..:eek:

[weiwentg]

incredible.

i like the part of the story where he makes incredible gains on the bike once he got rid of his expensive S-Works. haha.

i get that people like this are a little "off", but i wonder if you can truly be proud of a victory that you know is clearly fraud.

I bet he can. He told himself that everyone else is on drugs or on motors. Dopestrong did the same thing, less motors.

I was into online gaming for a couple years. Saw it there, too.

[54ny77]

Finally! Now I understand why I'm being passed by old grannies on mixte-style bikes with handlebar baskets. They're ALL using motors. :bike:

[dancinkozmo]

FYI heres a pretty good test of a hidden motor roadbike[;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wv5F5N6mFf0

[bicycletricycle]

BUT would he have been arrested(in the US)? Was the Russian guy authorized to write Rx's? But yup, all this and then he forgot to charge his battery..another vote for mechanical stuff, well maintained..:eek:

Thumbs up for well maintained gear.

[chiasticon]

https://cyclingtips.com/2017/10/exposed-hidden-motor-used-french-amateur

Wow arrested...I get it... it's fraud., but I highly doubt he'd see the same punishment in the states. here, depending on what level he's racing, he may have only "defrauded" someone of a XXXL t-shirt and a water bottle. :rolleyes:

I saw this quote on CyclingNews: "I don’t sell drugs and I didn’t kill a child, I put a motor in my bike. I'll serve as an example but I think it will do good to cycling because I am not the only one doing it.”

and I gotta say, at least he's being forthright about the whole thing. I don't 100% agree with his reasoning here and obviously what he did is stupid and wrong. but he does also have a point, like: "man, I cheated in an amateur bike race... yeah it was wrong, but let's not get crazy here."

[MattTuck]

Does 60 Minutes get broadcast in France? I am envious of the guerrila marketing campaign that guy ran.

[Wayne77]

Accolades and "respect" (though falsely gained) from one's local network of fellow racing peers and friends can be a strong motivator...the social factor is powerful. For Masters racers, finally pulling in a steady income / discovering their inner athlete after years of child raising, being out of shape, etc...I bet the Instagram and Facebook driven "look at me I'm 45 years old and after years of being out of shape, Im fit now and I can race my bike for 6 hours" renaissance they are going through makes it pretty easy to rationalize. At a time when they are spending loads of money on every incremental bike upgrade & spending thousands on energy & recovery supplements... I bet doping (in whatever fashion) is viewed as "just another performance upgrade" they are spending their hard earned money on.

Those are obviously some broad brush strokes for a large and very diverse population, but the stereotype is there for a reason...

i agree, and i felt the same way.

i concede that if you're a professional bike racer, getting paid based on results and under enormous pressures to perform at a high level, that is something outside of my experience level and i dont pretend to understand what those guys go through and the decisions they make.

but doping as an amateur, blood or motor? that's just nuts-O; IMO.

[GregL]

Accolades and "respect" (though falsely gained) from one's local network of fellow racing peers and friends can be a strong motivator...the social factor is powerful. For Masters racers, finally pulling in a steady income / discovering their inner athlete after years of child raising, being out of shape, etc...I bet the Instagram and Facebook driven "look at me I'm 45 years old and after years of being out of shape, Im fit now and I can race my bike for 6 hours" renaissance they are going through makes it pretty easy to rationalize. At a time when they are spending loads of money on every incremental bike upgrade & spending thousands on energy & recovery supplements... I bet doping (in whatever fashion) is viewed as "just another performance upgrade" they are spending their hard earned money on.

Those are obviously some broad brush strokes for a large and very diverse population, but the stereotype is there for a reason...
I think your last sentence is the most appropriate. Yes, there are certainly ego-driven dopers in the masters ranks. I can point some of them out to you at local races. It was amusing to see the reactions when the drug testers showed up at a local race this spring...

By and large, the masters racers I know are just regular guys having fun. For me, half the fun of masters racing is catching up with friends. Nearly all our conversations are about our families and friends. We try to race hard and fast while at the same time staying safe. Nearly all of us have to be at work on Monday mornings. After the races, it's time to sit down, grab some food and drink, and have some laughs. Some of those laughs are directed at the overly-serious masters dopers!

Greg

[Wayne77]

Totally agree Greg. Perhaps the picture I painted is was a little too broad. I'm right there with you...I'm a Masters racer and most of the guys I race with on my team and other locals on other teams all fit your description...most of them very good friends, easy going, and for the most part are people I respect. It is interesting though that every now and then it rears its ugly head and while you don't know for sure you do know that they guy fits the stereotype...some guys really need to chill out and they take racing waaaay too seriously. Gotta love it when someone is in your paceline, they're waaay too wound up - cussing at everyone for every minor thing. I'm thinking to myself "why are you even doing this? Clearly you're not having much fun"