Bicycle Racing News and Opinion,
Thursday, December 21, 2017
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2018 Tour de France | 2018 Giro d'Italia
This is the strangest life I've ever known. - Jim Morrison
Latest completed racing:
- December 17: Namur Cyclocross (Citadelcross)
- December 16: Scheldecross
- December 10: Vlaamse Druivenveldrit Cross
- December 9: Essen Cyclocross
- December 2: GP Hasselt Cross
- November 26: Flandriencross
- November 25: Zeven Cyclocross
- November 19: Bogense Cyclocross
French judges probe high-level racing with hidden electric motors
Two French judges have been given the job of inquiring into whether top international cyclists have cheated by using tiny electric motors hidden in their bicycles, as revealed by the French satirical weekly newspaper Le Canard Enchaîne on Wednesday. And the paper was not joking. It has been serious in the past and is certainly not laughing now.
Le Canard Enchaîne said Claire Thepaut and Serge Tournaire, two financial prosecutors, were tasked with investigating the links between international cycling teams and private companies after the allegations came to light at the start of the year.
"A corrupt deal was signed at the highest level of international cycling that benefited prominent riders," Le Canard Enchaîne said, alleging the pact had allowed for the illegal installation of hi-tech electric motors into bicycle frames used by some of the world's top cyclists.
How it works. Here's one motor cheating design.
The judges suspected that the small motors were impossible to detect during the standard control tests conducted by the International Cyclist Union (UCI), which has carried out 50,000 such tests so far this year, 4,000 of those during the Tour de France. Rumors of hidden motors have been around for a decade. But at the highest level, with but one notable exception, the rumors remain just that.
That big exception was when Femke Van den Driessche took another rider's bike at the 2016 Cyclocross World Championships and the bike was found to have a motor.
You can read our reports on what I believe to be Ms. Van den Driessche's terrible misfortune here.
LottoNL-Jumbo 2018 team kit revealed
The team's web site posted this:
With the objective of a photo shoot Team LottoNL-Jumbo has worn the 2018 clothing for the first time. The newly styled S-PHYRE cycling clothing from Shimano stands out for its distinctive yellow color and asymmetric bib shorts. Look closer and you'll notice the unique knitted fibre design and optimised lines and sizing.
This S-PHYRE performance clothing line is designed to cheat the air, maximizing aerodynamic advantages and power transmission to deliver the riders more performance per gram.
In 2018, Vifit Sport will be a permanent shirt sponsor, besides Lotto, Jumbo, BrandLoyalty and Bianchi. The logo of the sports nutrition brand will be displayed on the chest and the shoulder. Additionally, each rider of Team LottoNL-Jumbo will ride with an own, mostly self-selected number during the upcoming season. The team aims for optimal recognition in the peloton. With the stories behind their personal number, the riders will bring the cycling fan closer to their lives behind or besides their cycling career.
This Friday the team presents itself in the new cycling kit to the press and invitees in the headquarter of Jumbo.
The 2018 LottoNL-Jumbo kit
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