The professional cyclists' riders association, Cyclistes Professionnels Associés (CPA), have confirmed that Tadej Pogačar and Jonas Vingegaard were not the only two riders subjected to anti-doping controls in the dead of the night during the Tour de France this weekend, and are calling for a 'fairer fight against doping'.
In the early hours of Sunday morning before the mountainous stage to Plateau de Solaison, Vingegaard was rousted at 2:00 a.m. local time for a doping control and Pogačar three hours later. Cyclingnews understands that five other teams were targeted for controls at or before 5:00 a.m., which is not typical under UCI and WADA rules, which restrict testing to a 6:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. window.
In a press release, the CPA said that they are committed to "a strong, credible, and effective anti-doping effort" but raised concerns about overnight testing.
"Professional riders are the first to want a clean sport. To preserve the integrity of their discipline, they contribute directly to funding the fight against doping (they are the only athletes who contribute financially to testing)," the CPA statement read.
"However, nighttime testing raises questions about its relevance: Interrupting their rest in the middle of the night for testing now warrants serious consideration."
The CPA stated that WADA rules were put into place to protect athletes' health and maintain fairness in sport, but said riders' sleep was also essential.
"The Tour de France is a competition that demands exceptional physical effort," the CPA wrote. "The quality of sleep and recovery is essential not only for performance but also for the health and safety of the riders. It is clear that this practice hinders athletes' recovery during the most important and difficult race on the global calendar and runs counter to the intended objectives."
Testing overnight is the only way to uncover the use of performance-enhancing substances that are cleared rapidly from the bloodstream and, if taken before bedtime, would be undetectable in the normal testing window.
However, the CPA argued that the anti-doping authorities should invest more in advanced detection technologies rather than make a habit of interrupting athletes' sleep, writing: "Cycling contributes approximately €10 million to funding the fight against doping within the International Testing Agency (ITA) for the collection and analysis of samples, while at the same time the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) spends, on average, only $5 million per year across all sports on basic research to develop new methods for detecting and identifying new doping substances.
"Would it not therefore be more appropriate to invest more in scientific research and detection technologies, rather than increasing the number of particularly intrusive unannounced tests?
"Our goal is not to call into question the fight against doping — quite the contrary. We want it to be increasingly effective, targeted, and efficient in identifying true cheaters, but always while respecting athletes' fundamental rights, health, and recovery conditions.
"We also want to ensure that fairness in sports is maintained among athletes and that everyone can benefit from adequate recovery, whereas these targeted and physically taxing tests, on the contrary, hinder it.
"Furthermore, the CPA hopes that all stakeholders will come together to clarify the existing processes and, among other things, ensure that the tests conducted are carried out within a strict legal framework.
"An effective fight against doping is essential. An intelligent fight against doping is just as essential."
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