New UCI president David Lappartient put a new twist on the debate over radio earpieces on riders, suggesting in an interview with Het Laatste Nieuws that allowing teams to communicate with riders during races could lead to race fixing motivated by illegal sports betting.
Lappartient said he intends to ban earpieces in the next World Championships and voiced issues with power meters, saying they have made races "sterile".
"And then you have something else with the earpieces, they make cycling very sensitive to online betting," Lappartient said to Het Laatste Nieuws. "You can communicate directly with the rider in the race. Officially, the connection goes from a team car to a rider. But technologically, there is nothing that prevents me or you from calling the wearer of the yellow jersey during a stage of the Tour, right? "
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When asked if he thought someone could suggest a rider like Chris Froome might be told to ride faster or slower because someone bet on the race, Lappartient said it is possible, and the UCI has to anticipate such possibilities.
"Sports betting is like an iceberg. Ninety percent of the bets are illegal and happen below the waterline. That's how it is in football, tennis and handball. I do not want to get to a day when cycling, once we have clambered from the valley of doping, and the fight against mechanical fraud has been successfully carried out, is undermined by corruption and gambling scandals. The UCI does not have a single article in its regulations. Gambling is prohibited is there. But it happens."
Lappartient also has ideas to help combat mechanical fraud and doping, with new controls for motors due to be in place by the start of the 2018 road season. He also intends to work with the police to find fraud and wants mechanical doping to be against the law.
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