3. Motors, mud and early season races

February 4 | Motorised doping is the hot topic in the sport of cycling and also in the latest Telegraph Cycling Podcast, with Richard Moore, Lionel Birnie and Daniel Friebe discussing events at last weekend’s cyclo-cross world championships.

Femke Van den Driessche, a Belgian cyclo-cross rider, was caught with a concealed device in her bike after the inaugural under-23 women’s race. With rumours going back over five years, and the UCI having carried out bike checks since the 2010 Tour de France, this was the first confirmed case of a rider trying to cheat using a motor.

It is a watershed for the sport, but what should the consequences be for Van den Driessche – not to mention the 19-year-old’s entourage? And what of the wider implications for the sport?

The podcast team mull it over and also discuss some of the early season racing, including Peter Kennaugh’s win at the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Race and, at the start of his final season, Fabian Cancellara’s victory at the Mallorca Challenge. We hear from Cancellara’s domestique at Trek-Segafredo, the Basque rider Markel Irizar, about what it’s like to ride with the Swiss champion.

The Telegraph Cycling Podcast is supported by Trainer Road and Eurosport.