Vingegaard crashes out after early-morning doping test
Jonas Vingegaard, the double Tour de France champion, crashed out of the race on the approach to the Plateau de Solaison climb during stage 15. The Dane, who also won the Giro d'Italia this year, climbed gingerly into a race ambulance with his right arm in a sling after falling as the main peloton exited a roundabout in Bonneville.
The crash came hours after Vingegaard and race leader Tadej Pogacar were subjected to unexpected nocturnal doping controls. Vingegaard was tested at 2am by the International Testing Agency (ITA). “I was sleeping very well, but somebody knocked on my door at 2am,” the two-time Tour winner said. “It’s good that they test, but when it’s affecting performance and your sleep, I don’t think it’s so good.”
Stage 15: Evenepoel outsprints Pogacar
After a brief hiatus following Vingegaard's crash, racing continued. On the steep final climb, Pogacar, Remco Evenepoel, and UAE Emirates XRG teammate Isaac del Toro moved to the front. However, Pogacar was unable to pass Evenepoel, who led the sprint for the stage victory. Behind them, Paul Seixas and Evenepoel’s Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe teammate Florian Lipowitz lost almost a minute in the overall standings.
Reaction to timing of doping controls
Many in the peloton were dismayed by the timing of the tests. Vingegaard's teammate Matteo Jorgenson said: “I was asked to keep my opinion on this to myself, but this is a complete lack of respect for the riders. We are focusing heavily on recovery. That is hugely important, especially between two of the toughest mountain stages in this Tour. And then you get woken up at 2am. That makes me really furious.”
Olympic champion and stage winner Evenepoel also expressed outrage. “They told me that it supposedly happened at two o’clock in the morning. That seems very strange to me, because that is not allowed according to the rules,” he said.
Vingegaard's team manager, Richard Plugge, said: “It is good that our sport is, and remains, so on top of the anti-doping fight. Two o’clock in the night is not ideal, although it doesn’t matter what time of the night it is. It remains not ideal. The ITA will have their reasons for this. We have to follow suit.”
