Cyclisme professionnel : Tadej Pogacar donne son avis sur le dopage mécanique

Tadej Pogacar stated on Monday that he did not believe in the existence of mechanical doping in professional cycling, considering it “impossible to conceal” a motor in a bike without it being discovered. “Since electric bikes (editor’s note: for the general public) have become popular, it is clear that it is not so easy to put a motor in a bike. I believe we would see it. I don’t think it is possible to conceal it,” said the two-time winner of the Tour de France (2020 and 2021) during a press conference dedicated to his 2024 season in La Nucia, southeast Spain.

“There were rumors five, ten years ago. But I can’t even remember the last time I heard about it. I think we can be confident today,” added the leader of the UAE team.

Despite suspicions a decade ago, no proven case of mechanical doping has ever been discovered in a professional road cycling race. The only proven case of a bike aided by a concealed motor dates back to January 2016 in the U23 Cyclo-cross World Championships. It resulted in a six-year suspension for the 19-year-old Belgian, Femke Van den Driessche, by the UCI.

In the last Tour de France, the International Cycling Union (UCI) said it had carried out 997 checks within its program to combat technological fraud across all 21 stages, all of which were negative.