Richard Virenque describes motorised doping as “grotesque” (VIDEO)

Following on from the discovery of a concealed motor in a bike allegedly belonging to Belgian cyclist Femke van den Driessche at the World Cyclocross Championships at the weekend, many commentators have outlined their disappointment at this form of cheating.

Amongst those to express their opinion is former French professional and seven-time winner of the King of the Mountains title at the Tour de France, Richard Virenque.

Virenque was speaking to RMC Sport about the discovery of the motor in the bike and described the situation as being “grotesque”. He then went on to say that he feels that “organisers and international bodies must make regular checks at every race” to overcome the problem of technological doping.

Virenque of course, is famous for being one of the members of the Festina team who was involved in the scandal which became known as “The Festina Affair”.

The affair became one of the biggest scandals ever in cycling when their team soigneur Willy Voet was caught by France-Belgium border officials with large quantities of doping products in his Festina team car when travelling to the 1998 Tour de France start in Dublin.

An investigation took place into the use of PEDs by the team, and many of the riders did admit to taking drugs. However, Richard Virenque did not confess, releasing a book called “Ma Vérité” where he denied using doping products. He would finally admit to doping a few years later.

Here is Virenque’s interview with RMC Sport:

Vélo truqué – Virenque : "C'est grotesque !" by rmcsport