Its real and I find it technologically fascinating as they were using the frame and wheel as motor.
In January 2016 – almost six years after initial allegations of a pro cyclist
doping mechanically – the first confirmed use of "mechanical doping" in the
sport was discovered at the 2016 UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships when one
of the bikes of Belgian cyclist Femke Van den Driessche was found to have a
secret motor inside. One blogger described it as the worst scandal in cycling
since the doping scandal that engulfed Lance Armstrong in 2012.
I think that's just a natural progression from the fact that doping was the main way to cheat in the past, so "mechanical" doping is just the new doping.
But also: no one's ever thought doping wasn't cheating anyway. It's certainly not a euphemism in cycling.
