Tour De France To Combat Mechanical Doping
The French government and cycling authorities have announced that thermal imaging cameras will be used at the 2016 Tour de France in an effort to combat mechanical doping.
At the government’s request, the thermal cameras have been established by the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA), with random checks conducted during this year’s Grand Tour, which takes place from 1st – 24th July.
The announcement was made at a press conference by French secretary of state for sports Thierry Braillard and secretary for higher education and research Thierry Mandon, along with International Cycling Union (UCI) president Brian Cookson, French Cycling Federation (FFC) president David Lappartient and Tour de France director Christian Prudhomme as cycling looks to address concern over technological deception.
The method, developed by the CEA, uses a thermal imaging camera that can detect mechanical anomalies on the riders’ bikes and checks can then be made in the race and on the side of the roads. Testing was undertaken in the French national championships held in Vesoul.
Bralliard said: “With this technology which has been approved by the UCI and by the Tour de France, those who will want to cheat will be taking very very big risks. It’s a complement to what the UCI has been doing.
Prudhomme, commenting on the French government preparing legislation to make technological fraud a criminal offence, said: “Protecting the Tour de France is capital. We now have a real deterrent. To fight against cheating, it is desirable that the cycling world forms a united front rather than set off in a dispersed manner.”
The number of controls and locations of any checks will not be made public during the Tour and the UCI has been using magnetic resonance testing to detect motors.
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