On Monday, during the Routes de l’Oise amateur race, drama unfolded before the final stage from Crèvecœur-le-Grand to Grandvilliers. Organizers conducted a technical inspection of a bike, targeting Giovambattista Iera, a former actor noted for cycling movies. He played Fabrice Bouillon (as Jean-Baptiste Iera) in the film, Le vélo de Ghislain Lambert. At the French race, he was riding for amateur club, AC Bellaingeoise.
In fact, the events of Monday resembled something out of a movie.
“We had suspicions about potential cheating,” Frédéric Lenormand, president of the Routes de l’Oise and race director, said. “On Saturday, in the stage between Beauvais and Maignelay-Montigny, he caught up with a breakaway in an abnormally fast period of time. On Sunday, several people mentioned an abnormal noise when he was riding.”
Ran into race director with his car
As they prepared to inspect his bike, the accused rider fled to his truck. “I wanted to hold him back, but he ran away,” Lenormand said. “He ran into me with his car and I drove a hundred meters on his hood. It couldn’t have been more dramatic.”
The most suspicious detail in the suspected mechanical doping case is the three wires emerging from the heat-shrink tubing. Using heat-shrink here is common for aero gains, but should have only two wires: one for Di2 electronic and one for the rear brake https://t.co/fpuHe8aHjM pic.twitter.com/kMokjfXtt8
— Luc Grefte (@LucGrefte) May 21, 2024
According to an article in Le Parisien, Yannick Matura, an elected official from Beauvais and a former amateur cyclist, described quite the scene. “The most serious thing about this story is that a volunteer race director ended up on the hood of a car,” he said. “They say that money rots everything, but this is just a matter of personal glory.”
Tarnishes long history of race
He said that the incident tarnished the efforts of the volunteers. “That’s all we’re going to talk about,” he added. “It’s always a shame to see the work of a small association called into question.”
The AC Bellaingeoise team was excluded from the race and did not participate in the last stage.
Why cheat?
“It’s inconceivable to me,” Lenormand said. “Why cheat? There is no money, all this to win a garnished net. The winner wins a jersey, a trophy, a bouquet of flowers and… a garnished filet.”
After the incident, his team was quick to distance themselves. In an article with actu.fr,
team…
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