Judge signed off on Tadej Pogačar and Jonas Vingegaard’s nighttime doping tests due to “serious suspicions” before Tour de France, according to reports - Road.cc

What the report says

road.cc reports, citing reporting in France by L’Équipe, that nighttime anti-doping controls involving Tadej Pogačar and Jonas Vingegaard during the Tour de France had been approved in advance by a Paris judge. According to the report, the judicial authorization was obtained before the race and was linked to what was described as “serious suspicions” within the anti-doping sphere.

The supplied material does not detail the basis of those suspicions, the exact dates of the tests, the agencies that carried them out, or any laboratory findings. It also does not state that either rider failed a test or was accused of an anti-doping rule violation. Pogačar and Vingegaard are two of the sport’s leading Grand Tour riders, making any anti-doping action involving them especially high-profile.

The limited public text available alongside the road.cc item includes reader discussion questioning the timing and fairness of nocturnal testing, including concern that tests at different overnight hours could affect riders unequally. That commentary is not evidence of wrongdoing, but it reflects a broader issue in cycling: authorities seek unannounced controls to preserve the integrity of testing, while teams and riders often raise concerns about sleep disruption during a three-week race.

The development matters because judicially authorized nighttime testing suggests the checks were not routine in the ordinary sense, but were reportedly tied to prior concerns. Further clarity would depend on the full L’Équipe report, statements from anti-doping bodies, teams or riders, and any confirmed procedural or test results.