'Motorised doping' row erupts after Vuelta crash

A few years ago, the world of cycling reacted with a mixture of shock, disbelief and hilarity when Fabian Cancellara was accused of having a secret motor hidden inside his bike.

The Swiss rider was exonerated by checks back in 2010 - but the same row has erupted once more after eagle-eyed fans watched in disbelief as the bike of Canada's Ryder Hesjedal appeared to move of its own accord.

French sports newspaper L'Equipe ran a piece openly questioning how the rear wheel of Hesjedal's bike could still seem to be moving round strongly after the rider fell off - so much so that the bike even appeared to be riding itself uphill, against the gradient.

The video footage, while curious, is far from definitive, however, though it is widely believed that such skulduggery does exist in the cycling world - particularly since motorised systems are readily available for normal road bikes.

Though Cancellara was innocent of the claims, former Italian professional rider Davide Cassani insists that such bikes have been used for a decade - and as Cycling News reports, a demonstration was even given to Italian TV showing how one system works.

The UCI has regularly X-rayed competitors bikes at events to check for any such devices, though nothing has ever been found.