"They’ve lost the plot a bit" - Óscar Pereiro condemns late-night anti-doping controls on Pogacar and Vingegaard
Cycling
Óscar Pereiro has taken aim at the anti-doping control system during the Tour de France. The 2006 winner criticised that riders such as Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard are woken in the small hours for tests, a practice he deems harmful and unjustified in the middle of the race.
Speaking on Tiempo de Juego, the former rider stressed that rest is one of the key factors in elite performance and questioned the need to carry out controls in the middle of the night.
Pereiro noted that tests can be conducted within a window from 22:00 the previous day to 06:00 in the morning, but he finds it unacceptable to wake a rider at two in the morning.
“Anyone who has ridden a bike, even for half an hour, has to understand how important rest is.”
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The Galician insisted that disrupting a rider’s sleep in a race as demanding as the Tour can directly affect recovery and performance.
“Waking a rider at two in the morning is something that cannot be allowed.”
Pereiro: “It’s like having a gun pointed at you”
Pereiro also criticised the message he believes these controls send to athletes. “It’s like they point a gun straight at you and say: ‘You’re a cheat, and we’re watching you at two in the morning because you’re a cheat.’”
The ex-professional argues that this approach treats riders under a constant presumption of guilt. “They’ve lost the plot a bit.”
Tadej Pogacar at the 2026 Tour de France
The 2006 Tour de France winner also questioned why these situations are commonplace in cycling while, in his view, they do not occur with the same intensity in other sports.
“What’s the difference between cycling and the rest of the sports? Why does cycling, even today, still put up with this crap?”
His comments come as anti-doping controls during the Tour return to the centre of debate, especially when they affect the race’s leading favourites, such as Pogacar and Vingegaard.
Although Pereiro made it clear he supports the fight against doping, he believes that work must be done without compromising the rest and recovery of riders facing the biggest physical effort on the racing calendar.
Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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- Geez LeMond...let it go. You're a has been, albeit a former great one. But this is all water under the bridge and just undermines your legacy further.Mshark01-11-2026
- 'The Slovenian has collected four Tour de France titles' ... '[Kieran Wood's] ... reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis'. i would say that is pretty inaccurate accurate coverage, kieran wood ... too bad that AI's knowledge often lags several months behind ... but proof reading is certainly part of accurate coverage, isn't it? but fortunately does Kieran Wood place 'strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.' i would say the fifth tdf title is pretty new (and even verified) information, so feel free to update this article.Ketterechts01-11-2026
- You are wrong, they are already working on his new tt position. And yes, Trump does love you 😂👍🏼awp01-11-2026
- The Erola Jons incident was not isolated. She felt she could do that because that's how everyone treats Tadej. Remember when he said "If I say wait 2 mins do you show the middle finger and walk off angry?" about the supposed fan who did exactly that? There's nothing wrong with the nurses and doctors asking him to give autographs... but do the surgery first
Rafionain-Glas01-11-2026 - Perhaps he has what Mark Cavendish had, the Epstein-Barr Virus. It caused him severe and unexplained chronic fatigue. I hope he gets better.
parisbound0001-11-2026 - How can medical staff act like that? pretty disgraceful! the guys down and they're near seeing him off ;/
leedorney01-11-2026 - I think that this is exactly what Jonas needs at this point in his career. It's something that could revive his passion for winning, and he's physically more than capable of winning one of those races as well.
santiagobenites01-11-2026 - What a great race! Couldn't look away. Can't wait for the eurosRafionain-Glas01-11-2026
- I think other competitors also had great Tours, so it wasn't that Ferrand-Prévot necessarily failed in some way - it's more likely that the other top riders lifted their game and maybe also a bit of luck with no crashes, etc. It's the Tour de France after all. It's not meant to be easy to defend your title (the few exceptions like Pogacar prove the rule).Pogboom01-11-2026
- maybe we should put our cv at the end of each comment post ... same rights for all of us!Ketterechts01-11-2026
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