The UCI global cycling governing body banned Fenke Van den Driesscshe of Belgium for six years for the first recorded case of using hidden motors in racing.
The organisation hailed a new scanner which detected the electric motor as a major breakthrough in the war against the sport's latest cheats.
The motor was found in a bike used by the under-23 European cyclo-cross champion at the under-23 World Championships in Belgium in January.
The 19-year-old was banned for six years and fined 20,000 Swiss francs ($20,000/18,180 euros). All of Van den Driessche's results from October last year have been annulled and she was ordered to return all prize money and medals.
The magnetic resonance scanner used by the UCI “quickly detects motors, magnetic fields and solid objects concealed in a frame or components,” the federation statement said.
AFP
EmoticonEmoticon