The 40-year-old Frenchman has recently retired from the peloton, having competed as a professional road cyclist from 2010 to 2016.

He finished as the runner-up at the Tour de France in 2014, while he claimed a silver medal in mountain biking at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, having competed in the discipline for 11 years.

During his career, Péraud worked as an engineer for a variety of projects at the Creusot Forge company in France, before holding the same role in thermal hydraulics for multinational company Areva.

Péraud boasts a university technological diploma in chemical engineering, as well as bachelor’s and master’s degrees in process engineering, and a diploma in energy and environmental engineering.

UCI President David Lappartient claimed Péraud’s strong academic background and experience throughout the sport made him ideally suited to the role.

"Thanks to his solid academic background, his professional career and his experience as a top athlete, he is the ideal person to work, in close collaboration with the UCI Ad hoc Commission, on the modernisation of the current regulations and procedures covering equipment, in particular those concerning the fight against technological fraud," he said.

"This problematic issue is one of my highest priorities.

"The credibility of sports results hangs on it.

""A detailed plan of action in this specific area will be revealed next January.”

Péraud’s main task will be to be in charge of the UCI’s management of approval procedures for equipment and clothing used in competition.

He will also be responsible for the management of projects concerning the use of new technologies in cycling events and the fight against technological fraud.

Péraud, second to Austria’s Bernhard Eisel to be the male road representative on the UCI Athletes’ Commission in September, has claimed he collaborated regularly with different manufacturers in the cycling world during his career.

"Recently retired from the peloton, I wanted to continue working for the sport I love," said Péraud.

"The challenge I have been offered today fulfils my wish perfectly.

"I will invest all my energy, and all my knowledge of and expertise in both engineering and the sport of cycling into this role.

"The UCI already has an effective policy concerning equipment and the fight against technological fraud, but I am convinced that this can still be improved.

"That is what I will now be working on."

Lappartient spoke strongly about the threat of technological fraud during his campaign to become UCI President, which culminated in a landslide victory over incumbent Brian Cookson in September.

The Frenchman had also been a strong advocate of stronger policies to combat the threat of technological fraud when he was President of the European Cycling Union.

He had called for further methods of detection to be employed, in addition of the UCI’s tablet software.

According to cyclingnews, Peraud has replaced Mark Barfield, who led efforts against technological fraud during Cookson's tenure.

Only one case of technological fraud has been confirmed, following the UCI Cyclo­cross World Championships in 2016.

The bike of Belgian rider Femke Van den Driessche was seized following the women’s under-23 event, with an investigation finding that there was a concealed motor controlled by a Bluetooth switch.