UCI president David Lappartient has suggested that new tests for motor doping could be in place soon in a bid 'to be at the forefront of development'.
In an interview with Swiss news outlet Neue Zurcher Zeitung, the Frenchman spoke of his hope that motor doping is no longer present in the peloton, but that the UCI plans to announce new measures in detecting motor fraud later this season.
'I hope that hidden motors are not used today in bikes, but I have heard many stories, and some behaviours seem strange,' he said.
'Should there be a case, it would be a disaster for our sport. We will announce in the second half of March what we want to do.'
Lappertient then moved on to new methods that could be utilised by the governing body in its quest to prevent motor doping, suggesting current tests were not sophisticated enough.
'I have long expressed concerns about the tests. They are good but not enough to exclude electronic or magnetic manipulation of bicycles.
'We will certainly work with the X-ray technique. But it needs a mix of technologies, especially since there are legal difficulties with X-ray technology in some countries.
'We work together with scientists. The goal is to be at the forefront of development.'
Calls for new methods to be embraced were most vocal in a French documentary aired on Stade 2 which attempted to prove that current tests were inadequate at detecting all forms of motor doping.
So far, the UCI has only detected the use of a motor in a bike once, that being female cyclocross rider Femke Van den Driessche at the 2016 World Championships.
Last year, former pro Phil Gaimon released a book 'Draft Animals', in which he suggested that performances throughout the career of some top riders could have been thanks to motorised bikes.