PARIS (AP) — The agency carrying out early-morning anti-doping tests which left Tour de France riders frustrated maintains that correct procedures were followed.
Defending Tour champion Tadej Pogacar, the current race leader, and two-time winner Jonas Vingegaard were woken in the early hours of Sunday by officials for unannounced tests. Pogacar said his test was carried out at 5 a.m. and that Vingegaard’s was at 2 a.m.
Vingegaard crashed near the end of Sunday’s 15th stage, sustaining a fractured collarbone which forced the Danish rider to abandon the race.
Pogacar and stage winner Remco Evenepoel were both critical of the tests being done so early. Cycling’s governing body, the UCI, has entrusted its Tour testing to the Swiss-based International Testing Agency since 2021.
“The ITA is conscious that nighttime testing may be disruptive to riders’ rest and recovery,” the ITA said in an email to The Associated Press on Monday. “However, the ITA, on behalf of the UCI, has the responsibility to ensure the effectiveness of the cycling anti-doping program and the integrity of cycling races.”
Evenepoel said in his post-stage news conference that it was “very disrespectful” to wake riders up so early and called on cycling riders’ association CPA to respond. CPA did not immediately respond to a request from comment.
Four-time Tour winner Pogacar took exception to how early Vingegaard’s test was, suggesting that fatigue may have played a factor in his crash. However, the Slovenian star later said random-hour testing was valid if it improves transparency.
“I accept it, if this is necessary to still prove we are riding clean,” he was quoted as saying by the cyclingnews.com website. “If this is necessary then I totally accept it and I commit to this. But it’s a bit (expletive) when you sleep for four hours in one day in the middle of a three-week Tour.”
The ITA said it acted within the parameters of what is allowed.
“Effective testing must, in limited and justified circumstances, be capable to occur outside standard daytime hours,” the ITA explained, adding that testing is subject to safeguards established under the World Anti-Doping Code, UCI anti-doping rules and French law.
But some observers questioned why Pogacar and Vingegaard — who are world-leading riders — were tested on the same day and so early in the morning.
“The timing of a control is determined through a risk-based assessment that takes into account a range of relevant factors and information,” the ITA said. “But nor should it be interpreted as evidence that a rider has committed, or is suspected of having committed, an anti-doping rule violation.”
Analyzing a sample taken from a rider can take several weeks, the ITA said. The race ends July 26 in Paris. ___
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