A judge of freedoms and detention (JLD) authorized the anti-doping controls of cyclists Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard, carried out by the International Testing Agency (ITA) on the night of Saturday to Sunday, the Paris prosecutor’s office confirmed to AFP on Monday.
“A judge of freedoms and detention in Paris was (…) contacted by the ITA in application of article L.232-14-4 of the sports code in order to authorize the anti-doping controls which occurred on the night of July 18 to 19,” communicated the prosecution, confirming information from the newspaper “L’Équipe”.
Between the 14th and 15th stages of the Tour de France, the yellow jersey Tadej Pogacar and his Danish runner-up Jonas Vingegaard, who has since retired after a fall, were woken up at 5 a.m. and 2 a.m. respectively to undergo unannounced anti-doping tests.
These controls in the middle of the night, authorized but very rare, had provoked the revolt of the stars of the peloton, for whom Vingegaard’s bad night could have played a role in the Dane’s fall and his abandonment.
According to the anti-doping regulations of the International Cycling Union (UCI), which delegated its anti-doping program to the ITA in 2021, “the UCI should have serious and specific suspicions that the rider may be involved in doping activities” to carry out controls between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m.
“Inhuman”
The JLD of the Paris and Marseille courts “have concurrent jurisdiction to rule on requests for night anti-doping controls,” the Paris prosecutor’s office told AFP.
As the yellow jersey of the Tour, Tadej Pogacar is already tested every day, after the race.
Concerning the tests in the middle of the night carried out on his direct competitors, the Belgian Remco Evenepoel, now 2nd in the general classification, thought on Sunday that “it’s inhumane to wake up the runners in the middle of the night”.
Matteo Jorgenson, teammate of Jonas Vingegaard, speaks of a “total lack of respect towards the runners”.
The boss of their Visma team, Richard Plugge, welcomed the fact that there were controls, “necessary”, but deplored “bad timing”.
