Final Word: I told you so

By Paul Moore

A number of years ago, as part of a series of interviews with honorary graduates which the university had organised, I was asked to interview an engineer from Coleraine who had worked for the Jordan Formula One team. Gary Anderson was one of those quiet support team members who made sure the car was ready each time it went to the grid and he was as modest and self-effacing as all those who do crucial background jobs without ever getting the credit they deserve.

On leaving this role he had become more involved in the sport of bicycle racing, again not as a participant but rather in researching how the bicycles could be made to travel faster. He was interested in materials and design but the discoveries he had made, and which he shared on the night, were such that few in the audience I suspect, myself included, fully believed them.

He said he was convinced that many of the leading teams in the so-called sport – for obvious reasons he did not name any of them – were gaining advantage by having small electric engines secreted away in the frame of the bicycle which, at key moments, allowed the rider to kick in the extra power and, usually, win the race. He gave the example of how there would be a group of riders, all of whom were known to have almost identical talents and strengths and one of them would, suddenly, for example on a hill climb in the Tour de France, pull rapidly away from the others. This, he suggested, was the electric engine kicking in. We as an audience were both sceptical and shocked and when I pointed out that this could be easily detected by a heat x-ray on the finishing line he simply shrugged and said that a blind eye was being turned because of the sums of money involved.

I was never quite sure what I thought of his conjecture – until last weekend.

The Observer newspaper published an article which revealed that things in the cycling world, which have been relatively quiet since the doping scandals, could be about to get serious again since there are persistent rumours that hidden motors are being used by the biggest teams to ensure victory. It also showed that Gary Anderson was not alone in his conjecture. One man, inventor Stefano Varjas, claimed he had provided an electric bike for a rider as far back as 1998 and a French administrator in 2015, Jean-Pierre Verdy, claimed that at least a dozen riders in the Tour de France were using motors. Gloriously, the article said that they had stopped doping the riders and started doping the bicycles. The article even provided a detailed drawing showing how the ‘doping’ actually works. Anyone I have spoken to about the article, especially those who actually ride, seem deeply shocked by it. None seemed surprised.

The paragraph which particularly stood out went as follows…

Most insiders believe a motor ­doping ­scandal involving a Tour de France winner could be fatal for cycling. David Lappartient, the president of the sport’s governing body, the UCI, said: “If we have a case of cheating with a motor in the bike – sorry, but it will destroy our sport.”

Personally, I have often derided the arrogance of cyclists, especially the racing crews, on our public roads, and have often been castigated for it. Indeed, had it not been for the expensive therapy sessions provided by this very paper after the last onslaught I am not sure I would have mentally survived. Now, however, I feel strong enough to have my own arrogance and simply suggest: I told you so.