The recent fuss around the few riders who have been cheating—

VAN DEN DRIESSCHE Femke (Bel)

this time with tiny electric motors hidden within their bikes—seem to have helped sales. Dealers we have spoken to say the end user’s perception of eBike has been enchanced by the fact that professional riders would use them if they could?

Now the UCI has raised the fine for contravention of Article 1.3.010 (forbidding electrical assistance) to a new maximum fine of 1 million Swiss francs (£674,000) and began implementing regular checks on bikes in the pro peloton – several hundred have already taken place at the Giro d’Italia.