Cancellara Suspected to be a Battery Powered Cyclist
Unfortunately doping scandals are nothing new to the world of cycling. At the end of every race admiration of the cyclist is almost immediately followed by allegations of doping. Now, Switzerland’s Fabian Cancellara, finds himself in the middle of a new type of scandal, motorised cheating.
Rumour has it that Fabian Cancellara used a tiny electric motor to power him to victory in two of this year’s most important races. The Swiss Olympic Champion achieved back-to-back victories at the Paris-Roubaix as well as the Tour of Flanders.
So far, no solid evidence has been provided against him, and Cancellara dismissed the matter as being nothing more than “stupid” allegations.
Alarmingly online speculations have mounted up to such an extent that web servers, of a Austrian motor company that manufactures this invisible motor system for bicycles, crashed under the amount of views. The International Cycling Union, which is trying to install a new system to detect motorized cheating while trying not to reveal investigations against any specific rider or team, finds itself in a difficult situation.
An Italian broadcaster has added more fuel to the mechanical cheating wildfire through a Radio Audizioni Italiane (RAI) report. The report shows a video demonstration by RAI cycling commentator and former professional rider, Davide Cassani. He shows a racing bicycle that appears normal, but a button hidden under the rubber hood of a brake lever powers the pedals. He also showed batteries tucked into the frame of the bicycle.
The 49-year-old, Cassani, who has now retired for a long time, said that with the help of such a bicycle even he can return to racing and would surely be able to win a stage of the Giro d’Italia. He added that such bicycles, had been used in the past as well by professional riders, but he refrained from taking any names due to lack of proof.
There are still many people who think that this is all non-sense. They believe that it has become a tradition now to attach some accusations with anyone who wins a race. However, some professional riders believe that it could be true as they think that some of the riders maybe leading just because of these motors. Marco Pinotti, the Italian racer for HTC-Columbia, said that when he first heard about the hidden motor it seemed to be just another baseless piece of gossip to him. But he said that later upon his own investigation, he was convinced that it was true. Now, he strongly believed that there are some riders who are using these methods to enhance their performance. But Pinotti, after he finished ninth in the Giro d’Italia, refused to take any names. He said that he does not have any strong evidence to prove what he believed so he preferred to stay quiet.
Cancellara, over the years has proved to be an exceptionally strong cyclist and his physical strength has always been a subject of rumours. His consecutive victories in Paris-Roubaix and Flanders races raised strong attacks against him, initially accusing him for doping and now motor assistance.
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