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Ghost In The Machine: Could professional cycling be over for good?
Ghost in the Machine is back with a final episode digging deeper into the potential motor-doping epidemic.
“Tomorrow, if we have a case of cheating with a motor in the bike, [I’m] sorry but it will destroy our sport.” – head of the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), David Lappartient.
Cycling fever is heating up with the Tour de France just around the corner, but under the building excitement for the sport is a hidden air of scandal…
Ghost in the Machine is the investigative documentary uncovering the rise of motor-doping within professional cycling, with host Chris Marshall-Bell travelling all over Europe to discover how detrimental this could be for the sport. Now, with its final episode being released on June 28th, Chris rounds off his investigation with interviews from two of cycling’s most powerful men – as well as being driven through the perilously snowy outskirts of Budapest by an engineer who crafted futuristic motors for the sport.
Throughout the investigation, ex-professional riders have given their testimony admitting that they have always had their suspicions about motors being used in some of the world’s biggest races. Chris’ journey began with some bad, budget airlines’ coffee, as he headed for the Belgium city of Aalst to speak to Femke van den Driessche, the only competitor ever banned from the sport after being caught with a hidden motor inside her bike at a world championships in 2016. She’d turned her life around, isolating herself away from the sport, but pointed Chris in the direction of the man who’d installed the motor inside the frame, one Nico van Muylder – who said after the discovery he’d received several calls claiming to be from interested pro-cycling teams.
Since the investigation began, Chris has uncovered a redoubling of efforts to stamp out motor-doping from cycling’s governing body, the UCI. Several major figures in the organisation even admitted to enjoying the podcast – purely off the record, of course!
But, there’s a new sheriff in town: ex-FIFA and UEFA match fixing and corruption expert Nicholas Raudenski, who’s been tasked with identifying how motor detection processing can be improved in the sport. It’s clear that there is still a lot to do when it comes to stamping out cheats in an already compromised sport, but with journalists like Chris, and investigations such as Ghost in the Machine, the flame underneath these authorities has truly been lit.
Tune in for the final episode of Ghost in the Machine to be released on Friday 28th June, wherever you get your podcasts. Listen and subscribe at the link below:
And if you have any further information about motor-doping that you wish to share with us, we’re all ears! Just give us an email at: motordoping@gmail.com.
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