Getty Image / Dario Belingheri/iStockphoto/angelp
Tour de France winners Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard
Stage 15 of the Tour de France was completed on Sunday, July 19th and the biggest story of the day was two-time Tour de France winner Jonas Vingegaard crashing and having to withdraw from the race with a broken collarbone. Crashes happen all the time in professional cycling but many around the sport suspect that late night PED testing might have been a contributing factor in Jonas’ crash.
Jonas Vingegaard and Tadej Pogacar, who is currently wearing the yellow jersey and the overwhelming favorite to win it all this week, were woken up in the middle of the night before Stage 15. Vingegaard received a knock on his door at 2 AM for ‘routine’ drug testing and Pogacar shortly thereafter.
Is Drug Testing In Cycling Becoming Dangerous? Tadej Pogacar Discusses Vingegaard’s Tour de France Crash
Drug testing the competitors at the Tour de France is routine. 4-time Tour de France winner Tadej Pogacar talked about how he has an ‘escort’ who follows him after each stage until he’s tested. There are then random tests throughout. The athletes have no control over the timing and location and if the drug testers show up, regardless of the hour, they must submit a sample.
What has led to the current discussion surrounding Tour de France PED testing is the 2 AM knock on Jonas Vingegaard‘s door for testing. These athletes have to be able to sleep and recover. It is that simple. There have been countless studies proving sleep deprivation leads to an increase in accidents.
The athletes are already being tested from the moment they wake up until they go to sleep. But knocking on the door in the middle of the night, disrupting their sleep cycle and recovery, and in the case of both Jonas and Tadej they were unable to go back to sleep and proverbially running on empty for Stage 15… That never needed to happen. Here is what Tadej Pogacar had to say about it all:
The video starts with Tadej rubbing his eyes to start the interview out of exhaustion perfectly sums this up. Pogacar said the 2 AM doping control was “maybe a reason” that Jonas crashed. Because it’s not as if Vingegaard is a novice. He is a two-time TDF winner and arguably the second best cyclist on earth behind Pogacar, his rival.
They are the best in the sport so of course there will be enhanced scrutiny on them when it comes to doping. And routine testing is essential to keep Cycling clean. But 2AM c’mon.
The Crash In Question
Footage of the crash wasn’t clear but cameras panned to Jonas’ team immediately afterward with him on the ground. It was later confirmed he was out with a broken collarbone. Here is the moment it all happened:
If there is data backing up that doping tests administered between 2-5 AM are likely to produce results then sure, it is worth it. But as far as anyone knows those tests are not any likelier to catch a doping athlete than tests administered at other times.
Lance Armstrong, the most famous doper in the history of cycling, spoke about Jonas and Tadej Pogacar’s middle-of-the-night testing on his podcast The Move. Armstrong said “they came to his room at two in the morning, knocked on the door and woke him up in the middle of the Tour. Testing at two in the morning is a human rights issue. I am speechless.”
He added “This is the hardest sporting event in the world. Sleep is essential. Nobody here is saying there should not be testing, but do not do it in the middle of the night. Not during the hardest sporting event in the world.” Lance went on to question “what would happen if you knocked on Messi’s door at two in the morning? They don’t do this to Messi. Dear UCI, you are not getting any credit for this. So what are you doing?”
These 2 AM tests are almost certainly a result of Lance’s era where doping was rampant. UCI, who administers the testing, is an impartial agency and simply out to protect the integrity of the sport… At least in theory.
Some conspiracy theorists have pointed to how French rider Paul Seixas finished 3rd in Stage 14 prior to the top two riders being woken up in the middle of the night for testing. Any assertion of ‘home cooking’ when it comes to testing seems outlandish and I am not sure it was even worth mentioning here, but I’ve seen it brought up a handful of times on social media over the past 24 hours so I figured it was at least worth mentioning the various conspiracy theories cycling fans are throwing out at the moment.
Stage 16 begins tomorrow, July 21st. It is a 26.1 KM individual time trial from Evian-Les-Bains to Thonon-Les-Bains. Stage 17 on Wednesday is at 174.7 kilometer beast of a ride.