French hints at cheating British cyclists after Olympic gold haul

A French team director complained that Team GB’s cyclists are using ‘magic wheels’ and hiding....

11:54 09 August 2012

A French team director complained that Team GB’s cyclists are using ‘magic wheels’ and hiding them after the races. The subtle accusation came after Britain bagged yet another gold medal at a cycling event last August 5.

  

The final blow, it seems, was when Jason Kenny, 24, rode past French cyclist Gregory Bauge in the men’s sprint event in full view of 6,000 fans. He went on to win the gold, which became Britain’s 5th gold out of seven track cycling events. 

 

Team GB is expecting to win three more gold medals as Sir Chris Hoy, Laura Trott, and Victoria Pendleton all compete at their respective events. 

 

As the athletes are gearing up, however, the dejected director of the French team was busy ‘asking a lot of questions’. According to director Isabelle Gautheron, some of these questions include: “How have they gained so many tenths of seconds? Have they found a new training process based on certain energy pathways?”

 

She quickly clarified: “I am not talking about any illicit product, because anti-doping tests are so strong. We are looking a lot at the kit they use. They hide their wheels a lot. The ones for the bikes they race on are put in wheel covers at the finish.”

 

Britain’s cycling performance director Dave Brailsford responded to the accusations: “It’s interesting that people are starting to ask questions. It’s no different from when we raced the last three-and-a-half weeks at the Tour de France.”

 

He also explained the secret behind the admirable performance of his Team GB cyclists: “It’s the same method, the same philosophy and essentially fantastic coaching which is the only secret weapon we possess.”

 

“As far as the Olympic Games go, only two weeks are important – one week in Beijing, one week here. And we’ve peaked for both.”