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MOTO DRAFTING: CYCLING'S BIGGEST CHEAT | ROADMAN CYCLING PODCAST

25:05·30 July 2025

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Research from Eindhoven University and the University of Liège has shown that a rider sitting 2-3 meters behind a TV moto can cut air resistance almost in half — the equivalent of doing 67 km/h for the same power output as 54 km/h. That's 14 seconds per minute. And the fine for getting caught is 200 Swiss Francs.

Key Takeaways

The numbers from the 2019 wind tunnel and computational fluid dynamics research are hard to argue with. At 2-3 meters behind a moto, drag drops by nearly 50%. At 30 meters, it's still 12%, which is 2.6 seconds per minute. At 50 meters, 7%, more than a second per minute. A team car 5 meters behind a rider in a prologue saves around 6 seconds. In a sport decided by margins smaller than that, these aren't marginal effects. They're race-deciding.

The penalty structure makes this worse. A rider who drafts a vehicle in a one-day race faces a 200 Swiss Franc fine and a time penalty that's irrelevant if you're a sprinter. A stage win at the Tour de France pays €11,000. Second place pays €5,500. The gap between first and second is worth more in a single afternoon than the fine by a factor of roughly 27. UCI introduced vehicle distance guidelines in 2017. By 2019, academics had already shown those guidelines were toothless. Dr. Fred Grappe at Groupama-FDJ has proposed a GPS-enforced exclusion zone around riders, with automatic alerts when motos get too close. Beyond 90 meters, the aerodynamic benefit becomes negligible. That's the number the rules should be built around.

Research from Eindhoven University and the University of Liège, using wind tunnel tests and computational fluid dynamics, found that a cyclist riding 2-3 meters behind a television motorcycle experiences an approximately 50% reduction in aerodynamic drag, equivalent to riding at 67 km/h for the same power output required to ride at 54 km/h — a gain of approximately 14 seconds per minute. At 30 meters, drag reduction is approximately 12%, saving around 2.6 seconds per minute; at 50 meters, approximately 7%, saving over 1 second per minute. A following vehicle 5 meters behind a cyclist reduces drag by approximately 9%, with a team car at that distance saving around 6 seconds over a short prologue. The UCI introduced vehicle distance protocols in 2017, but academic research published in 2019 concluded the guidelines did not go far enough to neutralise the aerodynamic advantage. Current UCI penalties under rule 4.7 are 200 Swiss Francs for riders and 500 Swiss Francs for vehicle drivers, plus time penalties of 20 seconds to 5 minutes, compared to a Tour de France stage winner's prize of €11,000. Dr. Fred Grappe, performance director at Groupama-FDJ, has proposed a GPS-monitored exclusion zone requiring vehicles to remain more than 90 meters from riders, beyond which aerodynamic benefit becomes negligible.

The marginal gains conversation starts with Dave Brailsford — go listen to the Team Sky episode for the full context on how that philosophy took hold. And if you want to understand why the sport's institutional problems keep compounding, the legal drug problem episode covers a lot of the same ground.

KEY QUOTES

“Research from the Einhovven University and the University of Leesge have quantified the motorbikes effect using wind tunnel tests and computational fluid dynamics. They've shown just how much of a slingshot effect motorcycles and cars can give. When a rider is took just a couple of meters behind a TV moto, the air resistance can be cut almost in half. That means at 54 km an hour, they're effectively doing 67 kilometers an hour for the same power output. A gain of around 14 seconds every minute.”
Anthony Walsh — Roadman Cycling podcast host

“If you could pay a 200 euro a 200 Swiss Frank fine, that's the penalty for drafting behind a vehicle in a one-day race according to the UCI rule 4.7 and potentially win €11,000 plus lifelong prestige. Would you take the risk? Of course, you take that risk.”
Anthony Walsh — Roadman Cycling podcast host

“The strongest guy in the best moment with the moto won today. This is the third time this week that I think moto drivers have played a little part in the victory here. It's unfortunate, but we know this is the game of the tour.”
Quinn Simmons — American champion, Trek cyclist

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT5 SECTIONS

Cycling's Open Secret: Moto Drafting

Professional cycling has a dirty little secret that makes Lance Armstrong's doping look quaint by comparison. While the world obsesses over syringes and banned substances, the sport's biggest competitive manipulation happens in plain sight every single day, broadcast live to millions of viewers around the world who have no idea they're watching systematic cheating unfold. The scandal isn't hidden in motors deep inside top tubes or designer drugs. It's something far more pervasive and arguably more damaging to the rac's integrity. Motor pacing or motor drafting. The practice of cyclists gaining massive aerodynamic advantages by riding behind TV motorcycles. This is cycling's open secret that insiders acknowledge as the sport's number one competitive manipulation problem right now. Yet somehow, it remains virtually invisible to the cycling media and governing bodies who remain fixated on yesterday's doping narratives. On stage 15 of the 2025 tour of to France, the breakaway thunder towards Carcasson. Tim Wellins of United Arab Emirates, a breakaway specialist given freedom from his domestic duties helping team leader Toga. He leapt away more than 40 km from the finish. There was a really good group of chasers behind including the American champion from Little Trek, Quinn Simmons. The group hesitated for its split second and the gap out to Wellins absolutely ballooned. Wellins will go on to win the stage. However, the drama started just after the finish line. Simmons in a post-race interview to ITV said, "The strongest guy in the best moment with the moto won today. This is the third time this week that I think moto drivers have played a little part in the victory here. It's unfortunate, but we know this is the game of the tour. Lucky if you're the one that gets away, you get this advantage and there's no chance for the group behind." And anybody who watched that stage, I remember watching it and thinking like, how is this allowed? Anybody who watched it and seen that TV feed, seeing the motorcycle camera sitting just ahead of Wellins, giving him a pocket of still air. In his winner's press conference, Wellins, he totally refuted this. He said, "It's a little bit optimistic to say I won because of a moto. My legs did the work." Yeah, that's partially true. Many fans and even cycling journalists, they reflectively default to what about doping? When a solo move sticks or we see an incredible superhuman performance inside the Pelaton, when I chat to riders, when I chat to directors and coaches on the podcast, no one's talking about doping anymore. The chat is different. They're asking, "Did a motorbike just decide a stage of the tour to France?" Was the biggest performance enhancer that Sunday when Tim Wellins won? not in somebody's bloodstream, but right there on our screens. If you've ever wondered how the slipstream of a motorbike actually affects a rider, whether there's a science behind all these complaints and what it actually cost the riders who lose out, strap in because this story goes way beyond a single stage in the tour of France. You've heard the expression cycling is a game of marginal gains. Dave Braillesford coined this term, but it really is these days a game of centimeters on watts, tiny margins. a lead vehicle that sits a few meters in front of a cyclist. He changes the entire equation because of drag. Without wind, 80 to 90% of a rers's power is used to push air out of the way. When a motorbike or car disrupts that air flow, the rider behind sits in a bubble of calmer air. In everyday riding, you might experience this for yourself if you're ever riding into work or through the city center and you get some draft in behind a bus on a windy day. It feels like it sucks you along. It's meaningful. It really matters. Research from the Einhovven University and the University of Leesge have quantified the motorbikes effect using wind tunnel tests and computational fluid dynamics. They've shown just how much of a slingshot effect motorcycles and cars can give. When a rider is took just a couple of meters behind a TV moto, the air resistance can be cut almost in half. That means at 54 km an hour, they're effectively doing 67 kilometers an hour for the same power output. A gain of around 14 seconds every minute. Even at 30 m back, the drag drops to about 12%. Roughly, we're 2.6 seconds per minute. At 50 m, it's still a 7% saving and more than a second per minute. And the effect isn't limited to just motorbikes or cars in front of a rider either. A motorbike following a cyclist by a quarter of a meter reduces their drag by roughly 9% and a team car five meters behind can save around six seconds over a short prologue with that gap ballooning over longer time trials.

The Aerodynamics of Motor Pacing

You might remember team Indios a couple of years back or was it last season when they started stacking the team car in time trials with like bundles of spare bikes. Like no one's going to need 12 bike changes in a time trial, but they would sit back to change that air flow. These are huge margins in a sport where winds are measured in seconds, where they're in sometimes photo finishes. The numbers above come with a big caveat, though. They assume calm winds and constant speed. Crosswinds or headwinds, they can change the effect. But the relationship that I'm talking about here is proximity and advantage. And that's undeniable. The advantage comes from two effects. The first is called leading vehicle effect. A motorbike ahead pushes air aside and it creates a zone of lower pressure behind it. the rider entering this zone, he's going to experience less drag, which is why the 2019 study found that a moto 2.5 m in front reduce drag by almost half. Now, secondly, we have following vehicle effect. A vehicle behind a rider reduces the air pressure that normally pulls the rider back and studies found that a team car 5 m behind can save roughly 6 seconds in a short prologue. The effect is stronger with motorcycles because they tend to get a little bit closer to the riders. The combination of these effects explains why breakaway riders try to slot into the camera motos wake when they attack and why chasers sometimes complain that they had absolutely no chance of catching the first rider to spring from a breakaway. We opened with the Tim Wellins Quinn Simmons War of awards. Simmons was frustrated by missing a tour to France stage and he told ITV the day was won by the strongest guy in the moment with the best moto. He insisted the slipstream had played a massive role and noted the breakaway riders now have a new thing to consider when they're thinking about tactics for the final. They have to time their moves to catch the motorbike. Wellins countered that. He said he attacked first and that others equally had an opportunity to attack first. Regardless, the conversation dominated the headlines and it rekindled an old debate. There have been some really high-profile instances of this type through the years. And you know what do we call it? I suppose for one of a better word, it is cheating. One of the most high-profile ones was Pagacha, the goat himself in 2023 Amstale gold race. This sparked massive outrage when it looked like the race director's BM BMW drove directly in front of Pagatcha during his winning attack. Ben Healey was trucking behind and he closed in from 35 seconds, brought Pagacha back to 19 seconds. Then the BMW pulled in front of Pagatcha and his lead ballooned back out to 38 seconds again. Everyone watching this noticed and team manager Jonathan Vort called it out immediately. I think his quote was like, I mean, come on. Again, vehicles are influencing the race. On stage 19 of the 2018 tour, Primos Rugglitch attacked over the called Obisque and he opened the gap on all his rivals. Dutchman and one of my favorite riders at the time, Tom Dumlan. He fought hard on the descent, but he later blew up completely. In his Post Race interview, he said, "I was flying downhill and eventually I got dropped on a straight part just because Primos was in the full slipstream of a motorbike." Rogich denied noticing any help from the moto, but the incident reignited calls for stricter distancing rules around motorbike. 2005 was the year it was Gent Velgum and this was the first time I really remember noticing the effects of motorbikes and sitting up and thinking to myself in a sport about fairness this just isn't fair. It was one Antonio Fletcher and he had a healthy lead going into the final until the Belgian rider Niko Mantan caught him inside the final kilometer. Now Fletcher's team, it was Fasa Bautelli at the time, they protested and they claimed that the neutral support cars and press motorbikes pulled Mantan back up. Mantan denied using the cars. Race officials agreed with them, but then weirdly the driver of the car and the neutral support all got fined 400 Swiss Franks and the motorbikes got warned. It was bizarre. Fairness is such a fundamental tenant of cycling and maybe this hurts a little bit more than it normally would for me on these topics because I'm close to it. I have friends who ride and I can see the consequences for guys I know of the these missed opportunities. Cycling for all its glitz and glamour, it still isn't football. It's not the Premier League. Stage winners aren't on seven figure prize purses. Prize money and UCI points still really matter, especially to lower ranking teams.

What's at Stake for Breakaway Riders

At the Tour to France, each stage winner earns €11,000, while second place takes 5,500 euro and third takes €2,800. That's a difference of€5,500 between first and second. For a domestique or someone who prides themsself as a breakaway specialist whose salary might be €100,000 euro or less for the year, losing even a single stage because a moto gave their rival a second's draft, it can mean missing out on an entire month's salary in a single afternoon. And UCI points, they multiply as stakes. UCI points determine world tour licenses and invites. Missing a stage win can mean the difference between relegation and survival for smaller squads. Those points also influence riders contracts. A handful of extra UCI points from a stage race. It can add tens of thousands of euro to a rider's next deal. Road man. Whether you're a weekend warrior or a world tour rider, the right tools can make all the difference. Enter 4's precision 3 plus power meter. The latest innovation from 4i, designed to help you reach peak performance. The Precision 3 Plus power meter is a compact yet powerful unit. It weighs just 9 g and it's packed with features that set it apart, including integration with Apple's Fine Mind network, giving you the peace of mind by letting you track your power meter wherever it is. Plus, you've got up to 800 hours of battery life. We all know that accuracy is key and Fory delivers a groundbreaking plus or minus 1% accuracy thanks to their unique 3D strain gauge technology. For those seeking even more data, the Precision 3+ Pro Power meter offers dualsided power meter metrics, giving you detailed insights into pedaling efficiency, torque effectiveness, and left right balance. For Eyes offers versatile product options to suit your needs. Choose from ride ready parameters with pre-installed units on Shimano cranks or up for factoryinstalled parameter where you send in your crank set for a custom installation. Ready to elevate your cycling game? Trust for eyes precision 3+ parameter. Precision performance and peace of mind allin one. Learn more by visiting for ii Iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii.com. That's fori Iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii ii ii ii ii ii ii ii ii ii ii i i iii.com. I'm going to put that in the description down below. Professional cyclists only have a few chances each season to win. Victory brings contract renewals, bonuses, personal sponsorships, and future leadership roles. When a moto slipstream helps one rider escape and alters the outcome of the race, those guys who didn't get into moto slipstream, those guys left behind, they lose a careerdefining opportunity, a chance to win fairly. The cost isn't just a missing 5,500 from first to second. It's the story that never gets written for these riders. Think about this. If you could pay a 200 euro a 200 Swiss Frank fine, that's the penalty for drafting behind a vehicle in a one-day race according to the UCI rule 4.7 and potentially win €11,000 plus lifelong prestige. Would you take the risk? Of course, you take that risk. But this happens automatically for riders. Many riders, they don't consciously run through a costbenefit analysis when they attack or they come back to the bunch using moto assistance. The current sanctions like 200 Swiss Franks for riders and 500 Swiss Franks for drivers plus time penalties, which are totally pointless in one day races. The time penalties range from 20 seconds to 5 minutes. But all these penalties, they're tiny compared to what's at stake. That misalignment of incentives, of penalties versus upside, that misalignment, it encourages opportunistic drafting. Do you remember when Arnold Demar crashed on the Chessa climb at Milan Sanreo? What was that back in 2016? I think he fought his way back to the bunch under mechanical assistance as far as I'm concerned. Afterwards, he totally shrugged off these accusations, saying that riders have often and always profited from the draft of cars because they block the wind and this isn't forbidden. Although he denied holding on to the car, he later uploaded his Straa file, which caused a lot of controversy. His Strava file shows that he closed, I think it was a 40-second gap. Now, this is solo. to close a 40-cond gap solo while the racing was full gas at the front of Milan San Ramo in the finale. Maybe he had the legs of his life, but I'm skeptical. Now, that example underscores the calculation. With small fines and weak enforcement, drafting behind cars and motorbikes, it can be the difference between dropping out and winning a mon winning a monument. That's a temptation that very few riders are going to be able to resist. Commasaars for their part, commasars are race referees if you don't know. They ride in the car, they watch on screens and they listen on the radio. They have to monitor road traffic, safety in the race, judge on all interpreting all the rules and applying all the rules around race fairness simultaneously.

Why Enforcement Keeps Failing

So determining whether a motorbike gave a meaningful draft at 30 m or 20 m for a few seconds, it's very difficult. TV directors, they want the perfect shot. They want the shot of Pogatcha and Vindigard's face. They want the race leader's face. So, they instruct moto drivers to stay as close as possible without obstructing. Drivers are freelancers who move up and down the convoy to get the best possible shots and the best angles. Because there's no automatic distance monitoring, enforcement depends on the judgment of officials who are often dealing with bigger safety issues as the race is progressing, especially as it's coming into the finish. And as a result, slipstream infractions are very, very rarely punished. Broadcast demands have exploded in the last few years. You look at how many legacy TV channels are shown it. And then you add in social media. Each Grandour stage now has multiple camera bikes. It has photographer bikes. It has neutral service bikes, race marshals, and now VIP motors. Now, without them, we have no live coverage. We have no sport really. These are the guys who fund the sport. We have no on bike audio. We have no slow motion shots for the highlight reels. The sport is funded by sponsors who crave exposure. The TV product, it's non-negotiable. That said, there's a growing argument that technology like fixed cameras on motor homes, drones, helicopter-based cameras, it could reduce the need for so many vehicles. Fewer motorbikes would lower both the safety risk and the aerodynamic influence of these motorbikes on the race. Dr. Fred Grapp, he's the performance director at Groupama FDJ and he had this idea of a free zone and this is a zone around riders where no motor vehicle is allowed to remain for more than a few seconds. Research suggests that beyond 90 m the aerodynamic benefit it becomes negligible. Thus, we could have rules that require motorbikes to stay over 90 m away from riders except when they're overtaking. You'd use GPS trackers on the motorbikes and then the officials could, I don't know, be alerted automatically when somebody got into this zone and it would tell them to move on or to get a penalty. Not every photographer needs to be on a bike. The tour to France already uses helicopters, drones, and onboard cameras. Expanding these could allow organizers to reduce the number of motorcycles following breakaways. Drones can follow at higher altitudes without creating that draft. Cable cameras on alpine climbs could provide dramatic shots without any vehicle on the road. There are solutions. The current fines though, like 200 to 500 Swiss Franks, they are not a deterrent for anyone regardless of what the exchange rates like when the upside is a tour to France stage or a monument win. Penalties need to be increased dramatically with automatic time penalties where it matters in like grand tours, but it only matters for some people. If you're a sprinter, a time penalty doesn't matter. So, they need to be tuned into this. points deductions will matter for riders and teams that benefit from these. So that's a tool they could use. And for drivers like moto drivers, the threat of losing their accreditation, it would incentivize caution around them. Critically, there needs to be clarity. What distance constitute drafting? How long can a moto stay in front for? We need transparent guidelines. Enforcement is going to remain arbitrary until there is transparency around these guidelines. As a rider, I know I would draft off Motos, too. We can't blame riders for this. High performers, these guys are seeking an edge wherever they can get it. High performers are always going to operate right on the edge of the rules. It's up to the officials to determine where those edges are. And probably the craziest aspect of this entire thing is how long this has been going on and how little attention it's been getting. Television coverage of cycling became mainstream in the 60s and introducing camera bikes and neutral support motors to the convoy happened back then like early 60s into the 70s. Rules evolved then primarily for safety to ensure that vehicles didn't block riders or cause crashes. Aerodynamic effects really weren't that well understood and early UCI regulations, they were pretty archaic. They prohibited pushing or pulling riders. So basically anything outside that seemed to be go- go. The first high-profile drafting protest was probably the 1967 World Championships when the Dutch writer Yan Yansen complained that Eddie Merks had been sheltered by a press car. The complaint was dismissed. Throughout the 70s and the 80s, commentators did occasionally remark that motorbikes were being a bit too close, but they lack the scientific evidence to back it or give that statement any credibility. By the early 2000s, however, cycling's aerodynamic boom was in full flow, and this was becoming a serious field that people were looking into.

UCI Rules and the Doping Distraction

Now, engineers began measuring drag in wind tunnels, and pro teams hired aerodynamicists. Research into drafting behind vehicles accelerated after high-profile accidents in the Pelaton 2. In 2017, the UCI introduced a more detailed vehicle protocol, introducing recommended distances for TV bikes. What do Azure Datalia, Stage Slayer, Mads Patterson, and half the professional pelaton have in common? Well, they're all turning to Nomio, the natural performance enhancer proven to reduce lactate buildup during intense efforts. In the 2025 Jiratalia, Person's form was undeniable. The Danish star surged to four stage victories. This was a major leap in form from his previous season, and a key part of this preparation and performance was Nomio. Developed by the same researchers who discovered the performance power of dietary nitrate. You know those beetroot shots that half the pelaton were using. Nomio is clinically proven to lower lactate levels, reduce oxidative stress, improve training adaptations, and deliver a noticeable boost from the very first time you take it. Riders are reporting bigger threshold power, fresher legs mid race, and quicker recovery. All from a formula made with just three natural ingredients: broccoli sprouts, lemon, and sugar. Whether you're racing at the front or you're smashing local segments, Nomio helps you get more out of every ride. Take it before key sessions or races for an immediate edge. Or take your training to the next level and get more out of your hard work. Go to drinknomio.com, that's nomio, and check out this gamechanging supplement. Details are in the episode show notes or description down below. In 2017, the UCI introduced a more detailed vehicle protocol, including recommended distances for TV bikes. Yet, by 2019, just two years later, academics were already poking holes in this. They were showing that these guidelines were totally toothless. They didn't go far enough. And that the time gains from drafting were way bigger than expected. That was the exact same year that we talked about where Tom Dumalan highlighted just how bad this was when Primos Rugglitch got away from him on the world's biggest stage. Outside the sport, doping scandals dominate narratives. I can see it in our YouTube comments. People are always questioning if so and so Ryder is clean. Cycling journalists are obsessed about it, trying to find a link between a swanure and an old doping investigation and a doctor on a team. It's been going on forever. Fans still ask whether surprise winners are clean. But inside the Pelaton, riders talk about motorbikes because that's a tangible, measurable advantage affecting today's races. When we focus solely on chemical doping, we miss structural issues that shape the results just as much, if not more. The moto draft is an advantage delivered by event organizers and broadcasters. It's not a writer cheating. It's the environment rewarding whoever happens to be first off the front in the final. And that distinction is important. It means solutions aren't about policing athletes bodies, but about redesigning how we cover races. If you're a fan who reflectively suspects doping whenever a breakaway sticks, ask yourself, could the camera bike be the biggest factor, or do you think moto drafts are part of cycling's charm? But imagine for one second losing a once-in-a-lifetime stage because you were in the wrong place when the TV motorbike rolled by. Is that we what we want racing to be? I know I don't. As fans, we crave the images, the iconic images that the camera motorcycles deliver for us. Like I'm thinking Chris Froom running up Von too. Like phenomenal images. We celebrate those intimate shots of racers grimacing in pain, the sweeping vistas across the term. But those same vehicles, they can alter the very performances we're watching. The science shows the slipstream effect is real and it's larger than most of us had assumed. The history shows that riders have protested this for decades. Yet the rule book remains totally toothless. The cost of inaction, it's measured in lost stage wins, reduced prize purses, and endangered careers. If cycling is to remain credible, we have to treat moto drafting with the same seriousness that we reserve for other forms of unfair advantage. That means clear enforced distances, fewer vehicles, alternative broadcast solutions, meaningful penalties, and cultural change. It also means recognizing that outside narratives about doping often distract from this more immediate issue. The conversation inside the sport is moving on. As fans, I think we should, too. Roadman, thank you for tuning in to another Roadman Cycling podcast. If you enjoyed this deep dive, please like this video, subscribe, share it with a friend in a WhatsApp group, and let me know in the comments down below what deep dive topic we should tackle next. Drop your suggestions down below.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

how much advantage does drafting behind a moto give in cycling+

Wind tunnel research from Eindhoven University and the University of Liège shows that sitting 2-3 metres behind a TV motorbike cuts air resistance by nearly 50%. At 54 km/h that translates to roughly 14 seconds saved per minute, equivalent to riding at 67 km/h for the same power output.

what is the UCI fine for motor pacing in a race+

The UCI fine for motor pacing is 200 Swiss Francs. Daniel Davis argues in the episode that this penalty is essentially meaningless given the scale of the competitive advantage a rider can gain, making it no deterrent at all for professional cyclists competing for stage wins or overall classifications.

did pogacar cheat by drafting a moto at amstel gold race 2023+

The 2023 Amstel Gold Race is one of three case studies Daniel Davis analyses in the episode, alongside Tim Wellens' Stage 15 win at the 2025 Tour de France and Primož Roglič at the 2018 Tour. Davis uses the aerodynamic research to quantify how significant the assistance from a nearby TV moto would have been in each instance, though whether any breach was deliberate or penalised is a separate matter.

is motor pacing worse than doping in professional cycling+

Daniel Davis argues that motor pacing is now professional cycling's most significant form of competitive manipulation, surpassing doping in practical impact. The aerodynamic benefit is immediate, measurable, and carries a fine worth less than a round of drinks, whereas anti-doping sanctions are far more severe and the testing infrastructure is considerably more developed.

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