Jonas Vingegaard, a two-time winner of the Tour de France, was woken up by doping testers at 2:00 AM. He was trying to rest before a difficult stage of the race. The testers stayed for 40 minutes, and Vingegaard could not sleep afterward. Three hours later, the testers visited Tadej Pogačar, another top rider who was leading the race. Many riders reported similar early morning tests during the event.
The next day, riders faced a long and difficult Stage 15. The stage included a steep mountain climb. During this stage, Vingegaard crashed and broke his collarbone. He had to leave the race because of his injury. This incident started a discussion about rider safety and testing methods. Other riders, like Remco Evenepoel, said that waking riders in the middle of the night was "inhuman." Pogačar also suggested that lack of sleep could affect a rider's focus and lead to accidents.
The International Testing Agency defended the early tests, stating that a judge had approved them. They explained that while normal testing hours are between 6:00 AM and 11:00 PM, exceptions can be made if there is a strong suspicion of doping. The agency believes that testing outside normal hours is sometimes necessary to ensure the competition is fair, even if it disturbs the riders' rest.
The cyclists' union expressed concern, noting that riders pay for these tests. They argued that the early tests harm recovery and suggested better detection methods should be used. However, former rider Jonathan Vaughters, who admitted to doping in the past, supported the early tests. He believes they are effective in catching athletes who use small amounts of performance-enhancing drugs that disappear quickly from the body. He suggested that such testing years ago could have prevented many scandals.