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Cheaters & race chips Not everyone taking part in the Cycle Tour is there for the ride. Cheating is as old as winning and losing, and the event sees its unfair share of dupers and dopers every year. By Rogan Louwrens
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heating takes almost more effort than just getting good; because behind the scenes at the Cape Town Cycle Tour Trust is some impressive technology – and David Clarke, an IT expert who has been tripping up the tricksters for years. As with many other events, Cycle Tour participants are required to wear a RaceTec chip or attach one to their bikes, explains Erick Oosthuizen, head of race administration. When they pass over a mat along the route, the time and their ID are logged, then rolled through a set of calculations to produce the results – and catch any crooks on the take. Obviously, nobody should be outgunning the pros. (Note to self.) If they’re sneaky, they’ll make sure their times are unlikely to draw the spotlight of suspicion. But doing this doesn’t get people far – you might be able to get a minute, maybe two, two ahead of your group if you leave them on Chapman’s Peak or Suikerbossie, but it’s just not phsyically possible to breeze through the entire event without slipstreaming.
Average Joes Cheating can be a family activity, as it turns out: one year a group of four brothers and cousins, or some combination, went over the start mats, then hopped into a car and drove to
somewhere down the southern end of the peninsula. They then rode the whole southern half of the route, then drove back to the finish and hopped on their bikes again. They weren’t even after anything more than a vaguely timed finish, it seems – they finished slowly enough that they ended up only marginally ahead of the group behind theirs.
Straight out of nowhere Some cheaters are just in it to bag a lazy sub-four, but others are in it for the age-old prize: money. “There was a couple one year who wanted to do very well because they wanted to get sponsors for themselves,” recalls Cycle Tour director David Bellairs. Having cheated their way into the racing groups, the pair left the starting gates and split off on a jaunt that led them over a running path that travels past the forestry station in Newlands. “Their intention was to jump out just behind their respective groups. What they forgot was that we had the Giro [del Capo] taking place that year, so the first group was not A-group. He jumped out with them and beat A-group by about 10 minutes. “She was a lot slower than he was, and she finished probably 20 metres in front of Anriette Schoeman.” Was that an alarm bell we heard? Needless to say, the ruse failed.
114 cape argus pick n pay cycle tour 2013
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five years – and so does the friend. People tend to balk at this because, like giving a friend your ticket to a concert, the change of hands doesn’t seem terribly nefarious. But it’s not the same. Tragically, a woman once died amid the confusion that resulted from her having taken a friend’s number – because a cyclist’s RaceTec chip is linked to their medical profile and the contact details of their next of kin. “If you hit the deck,” says David, “we can only look after you if we know who you are.”
carrying enhancers like EPO.” EPO (erythropoietin) is indisputably the most popular performance pickup in the cycling world right now. This cheeky little hormone controls red blood cell production; supplementing it makes bone marrow pump out more cells, boosting oxygen capacity and supplying a distinct edge. Interestingly, “Both men’s and women’s categories are tested at the Cycle Tour,” Khalid says, “although we have never reported a positive dope test on a female cyclist.”
Dopes and dirty deals
The unintentional cheat Some people cheat without meaning to. They might take a shortcut, for example, intending not to cross the finish – but in the last two kilometres of the event, they’ll find this all but impossible to do. The biggest issues are people who unofficially take on somebody else’s number, and those who just ride without bothering to enter. The latter are likely to receive a sizeable bill if they end up needing to be rushed to hospital, amongst other things. A cyclist who picks up a friend’s number faces being banned for up to
There is another, more insidious way to gain an advantage: doping. With the controversy that has slammed into big-name cyclists across the world, it’s fair to say that banned substances are coursing through the veins of an unsettling number of athletes, including cyclists. Though to most it’s a social or charity-driven event, the Cycle Tour is the “most prestigious road race in the country for pros and amateurs” alike, says Khalid Galant, CEO of the South African Institute for DrugFree Sport. “So yes, events of this nature and size normally feature on our testing calendar.” Asked what the institute does to catch “enhanced” individuals, Khalid says, “Any cyclists with a Cycling SA licence is eligible to be tested by our agency. A sample collected as part of drug testing will be analysed for the complete list of banned substances in sport, including stimulants, steroids, hormones, narcotics and oxygen-
A cyclist’s RaceTec chip is linked to their medical profile and the contact details of their next of kin. “If you hit the deck,” says Cycle Tour director David Bellairs, “we can only look after you if we know who you are.” 115 cape argus pick n pay cycle tour 2013
Chip chatter Timing is just one element of the RaceTec chip. It’s also used for: • medical emergencies – vital information accessed through your chip helps paramedics save your life • safety – if the organisers have to shut the race down, they know how many people they have to account for, as well as where they are • resource management – water, for example, can be allocated with precision based on how many cyclists are expected to pass a particular water point • entry control – no way around it: cyclists hoping to get into the Lifecycle Expo will need to take their chips with them