Infrared cameras to check for potential cheaters in Tour de France

French sports minister Thierry Braillard recently announced during a press conference that infrared cameras will be used to catch potential cheaters who may try to use hidden motors in their bikes during the Tour de France, which will run from July 2 to July 24.

The infrared cameras will be used, according to the International Business Times, because it’s been recently discovered that competitors in other cycling tournaments had been secretly hiding motors in the frame of the bikes. Earlier this year in April, French television channel Stade 2, which was covering an Italian race, caught seven riders cheating, with five of them hiding the motor under the seat and two in the rear gear hub. In the TV report, it is shown that FLIR infrared cameras were used to spot the cheating.

As a result of this, French government officials stepping in and deciding to use infrared cameras to prevent any cheating in the upcoming Tour de France. The cameras were procured from the French Atomic Energy Commission, and have been approved for use, according to Braillard.

"With this technology which has been approved by the UCI [Union Cycliste Internationale] and by the Tour de France, those who will want to cheat will be taking very very big risks," Braillard said.

The IBT article notes that, while some experts have cast doubt over the effectiveness of the thermal imaging cameras to find all cheaters, the new technology will at least serve as a deterrent for what is being referred to as “mechanical doping.”

View the IBT article.
View the TV report.

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