The prawns are evolving – because doping and lying about it for years is old news now.

No longer content with cycling side by side and slowing traffic to a halt, which must be a favourite, they have now turned on each other in what is being dubbed the sport’s ‘mechanical doping scandal’.

The first publicly outed cheat is 19-year-old Belgian rider Femke Van den Driessche, caught over the weekend with a bicycle that had a motor hidden in the frame. Under the spotlight is one product in particular, the Vivax Assist, described on BusinessInsider as follows:

…a small motor that’s inserted into a bike frame and activated by pushing a button that’s installed on the handlebar. It weighs about 4 pounds, can produce up to 110 watts of power, and costs $3,000.

A Vivax dealer in Belgium also revealed that this isn’t the first example of such skulduggery:

…two years ago his shop sold a Vivax system to a local amateur rider. Later, Daems said, he encountered “a little bit strange” situation when he suddenly started seeing that rider’s name appear in race results online…

“We called him and told him, and, well, we dismounted his system. We gave back a part of his money,” Daems said. “I think in the amateur circuit, for sure there will be some guys that will use [a motor], because there are no UCI.”

Femke Van den Driessche has claimed she was totally unaware her bike had the motor fitted, although not everyone is taking her word for it:

…Daems pointed to Van den Driessche’s remarkable performance during an earlier race this season, the Koppenbergcross, which features a tough climb that often plays a key role in the race’s outcome.

“She stayed [seated] on the saddle, and for the Vivax system it’s best that you stay on the saddle,” Daems said. “Your rpm’s from the saddle are from 70 to 90, and then you have the best effect from the motor. That’s what she did on the Koppenberg.

“All the other girls were standing up on the pedals, and she was the only one sitting,” he said.

Let’s take a look at a video demonstration of the Vivax Assist in action:

Vivax have condemned the use of the motor in competitive cycling, imploring the prawns to rely on their own spandex-stretching strength to better the other riders.

I’m sure they’re hating all this free press too, what a drag.

[source:businessinsider]