girl on a motorbike
- Thread starter stevew
- Start date
That's what cyclocross does to people.
I was once paid to place a ball bearing in one of our riders wheels to get him to swap out of riding on non Mavic wheels.
Just saw the interview with her, crying her eyes out saying she didnt know. She seemed sincere.
On the other hand, I think i would notice of I wasnt on my own bike.
Appearently it was her bike from last year and her trainer used it (with the motor) to keep up with her during practice, or at least thats what they stated.
I find that a bit hard to believe...
On the other hand, I think i would notice of I wasnt on my own bike.
Appearently it was her bike from last year and her trainer used it (with the motor) to keep up with her during practice, or at least thats what they stated.
I find that a bit hard to believe...
Little noises like a bearing placed in a rim. Will drive a roadie crazy. Kind of like what a bad Bottom Bracket or a noisy pivot on a Mountain bike.
I don't buy that for one second. Mounting a virtually invisible motor in a cross bike wasn't by accident, nor inexpensive. She just got caught. IMO this is WAAAAAY worse than doping. Even when you're on the tour de juice you still have to train your ass off and ride.
I can foresee BB inspections for racers in the near future.
Hah. Utter and total bullshit. Even if she failed to notice it was her old bike, with a motor mounted, at the start, how could she not notice the effect of a motor during the ride? And once she did, since she was not expecting that, is it not incumbent upon her to cease her participation in the race since she's blatantly fucking cheating? That would be what an honest person would do upon noticing the error.
Liar liar, spandex on fire. Crying her eyes out, yes. Because she didn't know? Bullshit. Because she got caught, yeah.
Edit: Guess before I get out the hatchet and join the mob, I should ask if there's any possible way to know if the motor was actually activated during the race. If it was not, and the bike was merely equipped with it even though it wasn't running, it was actually a handicap. That said, still far-fetched to think she would so easily confuse her own bike with another. I know some top pros may not be as fetishistic about bikes as amateurs, considering them mere tools of the trade, but many are...even exceedingly so. And all of them certainly pay attention to the details of a bike, ergonomic setup especially. Seat height, tilt, yadda yadda, not to mention the small aesthetic things about our bikes that define them. Scratches, paint, brands and sizes of accessories, etc.
Liar liar, spandex on fire. Crying her eyes out, yes. Because she didn't know? Bullshit. Because she got caught, yeah.
Edit: Guess before I get out the hatchet and join the mob, I should ask if there's any possible way to know if the motor was actually activated during the race. If it was not, and the bike was merely equipped with it even though it wasn't running, it was actually a handicap. That said, still far-fetched to think she would so easily confuse her own bike with another. I know some top pros may not be as fetishistic about bikes as amateurs, considering them mere tools of the trade, but many are...even exceedingly so. And all of them certainly pay attention to the details of a bike, ergonomic setup especially. Seat height, tilt, yadda yadda, not to mention the small aesthetic things about our bikes that define them. Scratches, paint, brands and sizes of accessories, etc.
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From what I have read you have to engage the motor, with out the assist you might not notice any additional drag. That said, I don't care about intent only result - whether or not she intended to race an illegal bike has no bearing on the fact that she did. She and her team deserve the highest abuse the UCI can dish out.
The article isn't clear whether she actually rode the bike. It says they inspected it in the pits after the start. You are allowed to keep backup bikes to swap out during the race.
On the other hand, it doesn't sound like it was a random test, and the UCI went straight for it.
On the other hand, it doesn't sound like it was a random test, and the UCI went straight for it.
Wow, she faces a $195,000 fine. I can't imagine even the top 'cross bike riders in the world could afford a 195K fine. Hope it was worth it!
There are several pro roadies who live in this area, including a former national champ. They are solid people, but not the kind that judge themselves by victories but effort output and fun had. They pinch themselves daily that they get paid to do what they love.
I think the problem comes from folks who are only happy with victory, drunk with the promise of success and uninterested in the journey. That is not exclusive to pro sports but every walk of life. We just don't have governing bodies and media covering CEOs, middle managers and mall cops.
I have some technical questions. I'd like to see this whole get up. I assume it's safe to draw the conclusion that this sort of technological cheating must surely involve multiple parties? Like, Mrs Water Works didn't just install and design this electronic marvel herself, right? Is there a "practical" reason for such a fancy hidden gizmo? If the "coach" needs a boost to keep up, why not just buy a scooter, or some sort of e-bike thing. The effort to make everything indistinguishable to the casual eye smacks of a broder conspiracy to cheat.
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You can google it, tube housed motors are chi chi popular in Europe, they're not designed to self propell - they just give enough of a boost to help you keep your legs or create defensible leads during crucial points in a race.
https://www.electricbike.com/gruber-assist/ Probably one of these. Can be turned on and off. Switch is a bar end but I'm sure something less obvious could be rigged up. Weight if you grabbed a bike would be noticeable. Very noticeable. These riders are on 15 pound bikes so adding 1.8 kilos around four pounds would be noticed by the rider and mechanics. So IF her mechanic mistook the bike as hers, he picks it up to wash WTF. this is a tank? Or if she actually used it one lap as some sources suggested she would notice that too. And if it really was someone else's bike, do they have the exact same setup as she does. Lots of questions need to be answered.
What's worse, a motor or doping? I don't know. Both wrong, but one might kill you. What's worse, the person that drives drunk and kills someone or the person that drives in snowy weather on worn summer tires and kills someone?
What's worse, a motor or doping? I don't know. Both wrong, but one might kill you. What's worse, the person that drives drunk and kills someone or the person that drives in snowy weather on worn summer tires and kills someone?
To expand on this, it's my belief that in XC mountain bike racing especially, the critical physical skill is to be able to go anaerobic and recover over and over again. You go up hills at speeds and exertion levels that you simply can not sustain indefinitely, but your ability to do this slightly better than the next guy can cause them to bonk if they try to keep up at that same pace. Even early on during a ride you can wipe someone out if they try to match (and you are good enough). I'm sure this translates over to roadie stuff just as well and if you can get a lead or force the other guy to go over their anaerobic limit trying to make it up, they are finished.
I did a 50 mile mtb race last winter where I crossed the finish line around 20-30 seconds behind the next rider. I had a good race and did well, but it's amazing how immense 20 seconds feels and looks like when you are riding. There was no way I could close that gap after 50 miles.
Shit is really going to hit the fan IMO when hybrid electrical bikes start taking hold. Have a battery, but not one as big as an e-bike, regenerate braking energy, then when faced with that crazy steep section, just zip up, allowing you to significantly increase the number of miles you can put in, but you still "earn it all" (well, unless you devilishly made sure to start with a full battery). When these hit, the lines will start to blur big time and people will start freaking out. Mark my words, this is coming. Possibly the next big mtb revolution even.
You can fix it!
After further research it appears Luna bikes has quite pot operation going on...
When it comes in a mtb groupo on both wheels, people are going to **** themselves. Fire and brimstone coming down from the skies! Rivers and seas boiling! Forty years of darkness! Earthquakes, volcanoes! The dead rising from the grave! Human sacrifice! Dogs and cats living together! Mass hysteria!
I believe the pickup will be integrated into the brake caliper though and coils in the discs or hubs, or something to that effect, then the battery can be moved into the frame for less rotational weight/unsprung mass and a motor in the seat tube not unlike what we saw above.
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Having lived in Belgium for a good while, i found it is a vastly different culture then most of western Europe, especially when it comes to endurance bike racing. (Thankfully most of the gravity scene is pretty damn cool and laidback)
In the mens final the Belgian crowd was throwing beer and even spitting at the Dutch contender that won last year and was the favorite for this year.
These are not the brightest people on the planet.
Now with her brother being caught with doping in the past, and having seen the father in the interview, i kinda have an id about what this familily is like.
Daughter is a talented bike rider but isnt gonna cut it without a little help. Daddy and team are more then willing to cheat in order to achieve succes.
Daughter also isnt the sharpest tool in the shed from what I got from the interview, and thats an understatement. Plus she is very young and probably very naive.
I think it could very easily have happened that she didnt know about this and i stand by my statement that she seemed sincere.
Hope they will get to the bottom of this but it will be very hard to prove if she knew about it or not.
In the mens final the Belgian crowd was throwing beer and even spitting at the Dutch contender that won last year and was the favorite for this year.
These are not the brightest people on the planet.
Now with her brother being caught with doping in the past, and having seen the father in the interview, i kinda have an id about what this familily is like.
Daughter is a talented bike rider but isnt gonna cut it without a little help. Daddy and team are more then willing to cheat in order to achieve succes.
Daughter also isnt the sharpest tool in the shed from what I got from the interview, and thats an understatement. Plus she is very young and probably very naive.
I think it could very easily have happened that she didnt know about this and i stand by my statement that she seemed sincere.
Hope they will get to the bottom of this but it will be very hard to prove if she knew about it or not.
downtube motors are the poor mans doping
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/electromagnetic-wheels-are-the-new-frontier-of-mechanical-doping-claims-gazzetta-dello-sport/
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/electromagnetic-wheels-are-the-new-frontier-of-mechanical-doping-claims-gazzetta-dello-sport/
its a bevel gear attached to the crank spindle inside the BB shell, and driven from the mating bevel gear which is shaft mounted in the seat tube.
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paydirt ... skip to 1:34.
