53-Year-Old Italian Cyclist Caught Using Illegal Motor In Bike, Doesn't Even Win Race

After a long dry spell, motodoping is finally back. According to a report from Italian paper , a 53-year-old masters rider aroused suspicion during a race in Brescia yesterday when he was hauling ass upwards of 30 miles per hour. That’s, uh, pretty impressive for a rider in their 50s, and organizers asked to inspect the rider’s bike after the race. They scanned his Argon 18 with a heat gun and easily located the lil’ motor ( translation via Cycling News):

“We had some precise information and we proceeded accordingly. We looked, we saw that in the seat tube of one rider it looked as though there was a fire.”

Although secret thermal camera footage allegedly showed seven pros using motors in their bikes last season, this is one of only a few confirmed cases of motodoping. Belgian cyclocross rider Femke Van Den Driessche got popped for one at last year’s world championships but since then it’s been quiet.

As for the dude that doped up his bike, he was, of course, disqualified from the race, a race in which he somehow only finished third place despite cheating with a motor. Maybe he should’ve paid for an upgraded model.