Tour de France: how the UCI is fighting against technological cheat

There are only a few days left before the end of the Tour de France for this year. If the subject of doping comes up regularly on the carpet, there is another way to cheat: rather than targeting humans, certain techniques make it possible to boost the bicycle.

In both cases, the same organization is responsible for detecting any attempted fraud: the international cycling union (UCI). In addition to its anti -doping program, the UCI leads an advanced program to combat technological fraud. At each of the 21 stages, his commissioners intervene to spend a number of scrutiny bikes.

Rigorous technological checks at each stage

The inspections are carried out in three stages. Before each stage, a technical commissioner performs checks with magnetic tablets, equipment set up in 2016. Then, other commissioners monitor the race during the stage, in order to identify any suspicious event, such as a change of bicycle. Finally, after each stage, they control a certain number of bikes. They are weighed and scanned with a portable X -ray device which reveals in detail everything that could be hidden inside. Their goal is to find any hidden propulsion system, including an engine or a battery.

Unable to control all the bikes, they first target the winner of the stage, as well as any runner with a yellow, green, pea or white jersey. Then they control the bikes of any runner for which they would have suspicions. Finally, the others are selected randomly. In this way, they carried out 192 checks during the Tour de France in 2024, an increase of 17 % compared to 2023. And this year, they intend to further increase the number.

Reporting fraud can now report big

But the Tour de France is not the only competition that the UCI monitors. In total, even before the start of the Tour de France, the organization had already carried out more than 600 X -ray checks for this 2025 cycling season. It is an increase of 24 % compared to last year.

However, the UCI alone cannot imagine all possible fraud. To obtain the public help, the organization launched last year a program called FATF-RP (“Fight Against Technological Fraud” Rewards Program). He offers awards for any informant who indicates an attempted fraud. Just go to your reporting platform Speakup. It also makes it possible to report any incident of harassment or abuse.