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Tour de France To Use Thermal Cameras To Spot Cheats (npr.org)
An anonymous reader writes: At this year's Tour de France, thermal cameras and various other tools will be used to detect "mechanical doping." The image tests can be done anywhere and their locations will not be publicized, according to officials. NPR reports: "As far back as at least 2010, accusations have flown that elite cyclists were turning in superhuman performances with the help of motors that are hidden inside their bike's seat tube. Commercial versions of such devices can provide a steady power stream of around 200 watts -- the lower range of a pro cyclist's average output in a stage race. They can also be set to assist riders automatically if their pedaling cadence falls below a certain threshold. Tour de France officials explain how the detection system will work: 'Developed by the CEA (the French Atomic Energy Commission), the method consists of using a thermal imaging camera capable of detecting mechanical anomalies on the riders' bikes. The checks can be made in the race and on the side of the roads.'"
Yes. I see it done almost everyday. I'm a b pressure welder and the only way to test pipe welds without destroying the pipe itself is with xray or ultrasonic testing.
Keep on pretending like you know what you're talking about though.
No Tour de France bicycle has steel tubing.
You are welcome on my lawn.
You are kidding right? It doesn't look for just cracks. Different strength sources and exposure tes are used depending on the alloy on the thickness of the metal. They take an xray that does the entire welds from the root pass to the cap. Thickest I've seen shot is an inch and a half. They have the ability to detect cracks, porosity, lack of fusion, pin holes, slag entrapment, undercut on the INSIDE of the pipe, double bead, hollow root, excessive penetration, and a few other things.
You have absolutely no idea what you're talking about. But please keep on pretending like you do.
This. A lot of professional sports, from baseball to wrestling, have systemic doping....the difference is cycling has clamped down on it, where many others still turn a blind eye. When they look, they'll find it as well.
Seriously, I think it's well past time we stop thinking of professional sports as some kind of special or noble endeavor, and acknowledge their "athletes" for what they really are: entertainers. Pro sports are a multi-billion dollar for-profit business. No actually, they're a collection of several multi-billion dollar for-profit businesses. And it's show business, pure and simple. Steph Curry's and LeBron James' jobs are not to put the ball through the hoop. It's not really David Beckham's job to kick the ball into the goal. And it's not the job of those 11 guys to put their ball in the end zone. In all cases, their real jobs are to put on a show that sells arena and stadium seats and puts eyeballs on the television screens.
So why not just drop the pretense, acknowledge pro "athletes" for what they really are, quit obsessing about how they attain their performance levels, and just let them put on a good show? After all... We don't drug test Lady Gaga just after the Grammys, and take hers back if she tests positive for pot (Which she's admitted using, saying it makes her more creative.). Nor do we randomly drug test the Rolling Stones and suspend Keith Richards for the next ten tour dates if he tests positive for... well, it's Keith Richards. Take your pick.
Imagine all the people...
Not quite right. UCI sets a minimum weight of a bike (6.8 kg), but enough technologies exist to make bicycles much lighter than that. If you don't want to compete, you can build a 3.38 kg bicycle, which is half the minimum weight. There are full suspension mountain bikes that come close to the UCI limit FFS. You won't be able to feel the motor inside one of these.
"It's such a fine line between stupid and clever" -- David St. Hubbins, Spinal Tap
Pretty sure that thermal imaging would be highly effective in detecting pants on fire.
-jcr
The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."
Why not make them display what they use? That way we'd at least get to see what stuff works.
At what point would they do this, exactly? And what would keep them from swapping out the bike before/after?
I get a feeling that a lot of the people commenting on this article have never actually watched professional cycling. They all say "the bike" like there's only one bicycle in use here; in fact, multiple types of bikes are used, as well as multiple instances of each bike. Watch the support cars; you'll see spare wheels and even entire spare bikes on some of them. So playing a shell game whereby you swap an inspected bike out with one that hasn't been checked...and then, before the finish line, swap them back again...would be relatively simple.
For your security, this post has been encrypted with ROT-13, twice.
Personally, I think they should do away with team cars. There's too much furniture on the road anyway, and things are getting unsafe. Have neutral service cars with spare wheels, which are pretty much all compatible at this point.
If your whole frame breaks, or some other crucial part such that you need a new bike, they should just be forced to take a neutral service bike so they can finish the stage, but I don't see much reason why somebody should feel the need to win the stage if their bike breaks half way through the stage. Note that it has happened that somebody went on to win the stage on a teammate's bike that was the wrong size.
Anthropic principle: We see the universe the way it is because if it were different we would not be here to see it.