Tour de France leaders woken for 2am and 5am doping tests before Alpine stage

Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard, the top two contenders at the 2026 Tour de France, were subjected to unannounced anti-doping tests in the early morning hours of Sunday, July 19, before stage 15—a decisive 183.9-kilometre Alpine mountain stage ending atop the 11-kilometre Plateau de Solaison. Vingegaard was tested at 2 a.m. and Pogacar at 5 a.m., both at their team hotels by officials from the International Testing Agency (ITA), cycling's independent anti-doping body. The tests disrupted the riders' sleep recovery during a gruelling three-week competition.

Both riders expressed frustration over the timing. Vingegaard said he was sleeping well before being woken and spent approximately 40 minutes completing the procedure, describing it as "not the nicest at two o'clock." He acknowledged the importance of testing but questioned whether early-morning disruption should affect athletes' recovery, particularly before crucial climbing stages. Pogacar, who reported only four hours of sleep after going to bed at 1 a.m., said he spent the early morning listening to Eminem songs and making coffee, unable to return to sleep. He noted that while random testing occurs throughout the Tour, nighttime testing was unexpected.

The ITA defended the early-morning tests on Monday, stating that correct procedures were followed and that nighttime testing is necessary to maintain anti-doping program effectiveness and race integrity. The agency clarified that the timing should not be interpreted as suspicion of violations and noted that such tests have been permitted since 2016 under World Anti-Doping Code safeguards. The ITA acknowledged that nighttime testing may be disruptive to rest and recovery but asserted its responsibility to ensure competitive fairness.

The controversy intensified when Vingegaard crashed near the end of stage 15, sustaining a fractured collarbone that forced him to abandon the race. Pogacar and stage winner Remco Evenepoel both suggested the early-morning tests may have contributed to fatigue-related performance issues, though Evenepoel called the timing "very disrespectful." Pogacar later said he accepted such testing if it improved transparency in cycling, stating "I totally accept it and I commit to this," despite acknowledging the difficulty of four-hour sleep during a three-week race.

According to reports, the ITA conducted more than 600 anti-doping controls throughout the 2026 Tour, including unannounced hotel visits before and after stages. Visma-Lease a Bike team director Richard Plugge confirmed that multiple teams faced nighttime tests, describing them as "unpleasant" but acknowledging the sport's commitment to anti-doping vigilance. Sample analysis can take several weeks, and the race concludes July 26 in Paris.