An amateur cyclist was caught using a motorized bicycle following a race in southwest France on Sunday, a local prosecutor revealed.

The tampered bicycle was discovered in a joint operation conducted by the French Anti-Doping Agency, the French Cycling Federation (FFC), and the local public prosecutor's office. The rider, whose name and age were not released, admitted to the use of the system. Also known as mechanical doping, it is considered serious technological fraud.

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"We were alerted by an employee of the French Anti-Doping Agency of suspected cheating by the use of an electronic system, seemingly a little motor," said Jean-François Mailhes, who is the public prosecutor for Perigueux in the Dordogne commune.

The rider was interviewed by police in an attempt to discover the amount of prize money he had earned while using the motorized bike.

See how hidden bike motors work:

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The FFC said this is the first such case to occur in France. A similar incident took place at the 2016 UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships in Belgium, when Femke Van den Driessche was charged with mechanical doping. As a result, she received a six-year ban from the sport.

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