The UCI insisted that it is committed to combating mechanical doping despite its decision to dismiss Jean-Christophe Perrault, who led its efforts against hidden motors.

On Tuesday, the French newspaper L'Equipe reported that Perrault was dismissed on June 30.

Perrault, who finished second in the 2014 Tour de France, was appointed "manager of the fight against equipment and technical irregularities" at the end of 2017, following David Lapartient's appointment as president of the UCI, who, due to cuts related to the financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic was let go.

"In recent months, faced with reduced income due to the current health crisis (coronavirus pandemic), UCI has been forced to reorganize some of its activities as part of its program. Under these circumstances, UCI ended its collaboration with Jean-Christophe Perrault.

"The former Vice-Champion of the Cross Country Olympics and 2nd place in the 2014 Tour de France helped strengthen our program to fight mechanical fraud, especially through the development of the Tracker project in collaboration with CEA Tech. We salute Jean-Christophe Perrault for his expertise and dedication over the last two and a half years, thank him for his contribution to the credibility of our sport and wish him success in his future responsibilities."

During his two-and-a-half-year tenure, Perrault helped introduce many new methods to detect and deter mechanical doping. In addition to the magnetic tablet scanners already in use, X-ray scanning was used extensively in 2018, as was thermal imaging and bike tagging.

Perrault's ouster coincided with the end of a lengthy French investigation into hidden motors due to lack of evidence. However, the UCI insists that nothing has changed regarding the fight against mechanical doping.

"The UCI teams, technical commissaires, service providers, and national federations that worked with Jean-Christophe Peraud will continue to test and control (various technologies), especially in future races, after the UCI World Tour season resumes in August. control, especially in future races, even after the UCI WorldTour season resumes in August," the statement said.

"The UCI's commitment and investment in the fight against technological injustice remains unchanged; the UCI will continue to pursue innovation, development and investment to combat new and future technologies that undermine the integrity of our sport."