French Guy Busted For Racing With An Illegal Motor In His Bike

Over the weekend, French officials caught a 43-year-old amateur cyclist cheating by using an illegal motor in a race. He’s now the second such rider caught motodoping in an amateur race, after a 53-year-old shit-talking aficionado was caught in Italy in late July.

The unnamed motodoper was taking part in a category 3 (mid-tier amateur) race in the Dordogne region, and fellow riders had apparently suspected him of mechanically enhancing his performance for a while. The incident was first reported by French journalist Thierry Vilardy.

The rider (who is in the yellow vest in the above video) was in the break when he noticed the presence of anti-doping officials, including former pro Christophe Bassons. With four laps left in the race, he quietly exited the race, got into his car, and booked it out of there. Bassons then was forced to, per Google Translate’s work on this , “engage in a real chase,” after which he pulled the rider over and inspected his bike.

“I asked him if I could try the bike,” said Bassons, “He looked surprised. I then lifted his water bottle (in which the battery was hidden) and I saw the electric wire!”

After Bassons’s discovery, a mechanic stripped the bike and found the hidden motor. The rider, who’s apparently won several races in southwestern France this year, also kept one clean bike around during races in an attempt to fool anyone who thought to scrutinize his performance.