Cookson warns cheats as UCI showcases motor detection method (Reuters)

By Cecile Mantovani AIGLE, Switzerland (Reuters) – Cheats will not prosper was the message of International Cycling Union (UCI) president Brian Cookson on Tuesday as the governing body stepped up its fight against mechanical fraud by showcasing a new method to detect hidden motors in bikes. Earlier this year, Belgian rider Femke van den Driessche was handed a six-year ban for mechanical doping after it was proven her spare bike contained a motor at the cyclocross Under-23 world championship in January. Last month, television station France 2, in collaboration with Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, claimed that hidden motors were used in the Strade Bianche one-day race and the Coppi e Bartali race in Italy this season.