A judge in Paris has granted permission for nighttime doping tests to be conducted on Tadej Pogacar, the leader of the Tour de France, and his closest competitor, Jonas Vingegaard, during the early hours of Sunday morning.
On Monday, the Paris prosecutor’s office revealed that the International Testing Agency (ITA) had requested this authorization from a judge specializing in liberty and detention matters for the anti-doping tests carried out overnight between July 18 and 19.
Pogacar and Vingegaard were subjected to unannounced doping checks outside the usual testing hours of 6 AM to 11 PM, just before stage 15, as the cyclists prepared to ascend to Plateau de Solaison in the Savoyard Alps.
Vingegaard underwent testing at 2 AM on Sunday, while Pogacar was awakened for his test at 5 AM. Pogacar characterized Vingegaard’s 2 AM test as “inhuman,” suggesting that it disrupted Vingegaard’s sleep, which may have contributed to a crash that resulted in Vingegaard breaking his collarbone and withdrawing from the race.
Prior to the start of the stage on Sunday, Vingegaard remarked, “I was sleeping very well. While I support the need for testing, when it impacts performance and sleep, I question its appropriateness.”
According to the anti-doping regulations set by the International Cycling Union (UCI), which delegated its anti-doping responsibilities to the ITA in 2021, nighttime tests can only be conducted if there are “serious and specific suspicions” of doping activities. The judges responsible for liberty and detention have the authority to approve requests for nighttime doping tests, as confirmed by the Paris public prosecutor’s office to AFP.
The timing of these tests has drawn significant criticism from prominent cyclists and team staff, including Remco Evenepoel, currently in second place in the Tour, and Vingegaard’s teammate, Matteo Jorgenson, who expressed that it demonstrated “a complete lack of respect” for the athletes.
The ITA acknowledged that nighttime testing might disrupt the rest and recovery of cyclists. They stated that efforts were made to minimize the impact of testing activities on the riders. However, the ITA emphasized its obligation to uphold the integrity of cycling and ensure the effectiveness of the anti-doping program on behalf of the UCI.
Reports suggest that as many as five teams, including Pogacar’s UAE Team Emirates and Vingegaard’s Visma Lease-a-bike, have experienced nighttime testing during this year’s Tour. While the ITA did not disclose specific numbers, they confirmed to the Guardian that other teams have also undergone “night-time” or early morning testing.
The introduction of nighttime testing aimed to tackle the issue of micro-dosing with performance-enhancing substances, which is often difficult to detect within a limited timeframe.
Jonathan Vaughters, the manager of the EF-Education EasyPost team currently participating in the Tour and a former teammate of the disgraced Lance Armstrong, expressed his support for nighttime testing. Vaughters commented on X, stating, “Testing at 2 AM is an effective method to prevent micro-dosing of peptides. If the UCI had tested us at that hour in 2001, we would have seen many suspensions and potentially avoided 25 years of controversy in the sport.”
The Tour de France is set to conclude in Paris on Sunday evening, but there is currently no timeline for when the results of the tests will be released. The ITA indicated that the outcomes of these tests, like any others conducted by the agency, would only be disclosed according to their public disclosure policy in the event of a clear anti-doping rule violation.
