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Paris - Italian manufacturer Wilier Triestina says it will sue the Belgian cyclist who used a motor on her bike at the cyclo-cross world championships in the latest scandal to rock the sport.
Managing director Andrea Gastaldello said he was "stunned" by the news that Femke Van den Driessche competed in the Under-23 race over the weekend with a concealed motor in her Wilier Triestina bike.
"Our company reserves its right to take legal action against the athlete and any person responsible for this serious matter to safeguard the reputation and image of the company," he wrote in a statement.
Van den Driessche, who became the first cyclist caught for technological doping in a major competition, denied any wrongdoing, claiming she mistakenly used a friend's bike identical to hers without knowing it had been equipped with a motor.
One of the favourites, she withdrew from the race won by Britain's Evie Richards because of a mechanical problem.
The UCI has seized her bike for further investigation, and president Brian Cookson said "it's absolutely clear there was technological fraud."
Under UCI's technological fraud rules, Van den Driessche is facing a six-month suspension and a fine of 20 000 to 200 000 Swiss francs, while the Belgian national team could be fined as much as 1 million Swiss francs.
"There was a concealed motor, I don't think there is any secret about that," Cookson said at a press conference.
"But other than that, how that happened, what the circumstances were, that will all be passed to the disciplinary commission."
After years of controversy marred by doping scandals and the tainted reign of Lance Armstrong, the UCI has been tackling the motors issue seriously.
The first speculation of technological doping emerged in 2010 when Swiss rider Fabian Cancellara was forced to deny he won Paris-Roubaix and the Tour of Flanders with the help of an electric bike after a video appeared to show him pushing a button on the handlebars during both races.
Bike checks were quickly introduced and have since been carried out by the UCI at cycling's most prestigious events including the Tour de France.
"We've heard some stories for a long time now about the possibility of this," Cookson said. "We have been alive to a potential way that people might cheat and we have been testing a number of bikes and a number of events for several months."
He said it remains to be seen whether motorized doping was widespread but sent a clear message to potential cheaters.
"Technological fraud is unacceptable. We want the minority who may consider cheating to know that, increasingly," Cookson wrote on Twitter.
"There is no place to hide and sooner or later they will pay for the damage they're causing to our sport."
Technological fraud is unacceptable. We want the minority who may consider cheating to know that, increasingly 1/2 pic.twitter.com/kxz3Phct7P
— Brian Cookson OBE (@BrianCooksonUCI) January 31, 20162/2 there is no place to hide, and sooner or later they will pay for the damage they’re causing to our sport pic.twitter.com/dbqlDm9U4u
— Brian Cookson OBE (@BrianCooksonUCI) January 31, 2016
