"You don’t want that during your night’s rest" - Visma boss Richard Plugge reacts to Vingegaard and Pogacar doping tests during the night
CyclingSunday, 19 July 2026 at 13:45
Richard Plugge has responded after Jonas Vingegaard was woken up at 2am overnight for an unannounced doping test on Saturday night into Sunday morning. Tadej Pogacar was also woken at 5am for a test as the Tour de France general classification leaders suffered some sleepless parts of the night.
Vingegaard admitted that he didn't know the procedure could be implemented while his teammate Matteo Jorgenson voiced his anger before stage 15. However, the VIsma CEO admitted that while positive for the sport, the move's timing is not ideal for the Dutch team.
Riders are subject to around the clock doping tests during La Grand Boucle, however teams are reportedly not pleased with the timing of these tests given that it comes between two key mountain stages.
For Plugge, he's pleased to see the testing procedure at work as he admitted that thorough monitoring of riders is a positive for the sport.
Plugge supports testing but admits "not ideal" timing a disruption
“Apparently, more teams have been visited. In any case, it is good that our sport is, and remains, so on top of the anti-doping fight," Plugge told Wielerflits.
"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 (International Testing Agency) will have their reasons for this. We have to follow suit. Once again: it is good that they are doing this, and with different teams as well.”
When it comes to performance, an interrupted sleep disrupts an athlete's recovery, especially with a gruelling stage looming on Sunday. While Pogacar admitted that he could not get back to sleep and found himself making coffee, Plugge implied that Vingegaard got back to sleep.
Plugge on effects of night testing on performance
“Performance-wise, it is, to put it mildly, unpleasant. They wake you up, and you are easily out for half an hour to forty minutes afterwards," Plugge said.
"You don’t want that during your night’s rest. That is never nice. On the other hand, 2 AM might actually be good, because you still have a long stretch of the night to sleep afterwards.”
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Plugge knew that during the night tests were a possibility during the grand tour. He underlined his support for the testing to ensure that the sport remained "fair".
“We know this is possible. These are the rules. From one minute before the start of the Tour until the finish in Paris, checks can take place 24 hours a day. That is stated in the rules. So you know this can happen.
"The fact that it is happening is also a good sign. I keep saying it: because in this sport we do everything we can – much more than in many other sports – to ensure that cycling remains fair.”
Gavin QuinnCycling Journalist
Gavin Quinn is a cycling journalist and ultra-distance cyclist with a BA in Journalism from Dublin City University. Formerly the Press & Communications Officer for Cycling Ireland, Gavin has worked inside the national team at the World Championships and has reported for the Irish Mirror, Mirror UK, and The42.
His expertise is backed by elite-level access, having interviewed stars like Sam Bennett and Ben Healy, as well as immense personal endurance. In 2025, he completed a 12,000km solo cycle from Ireland to Vietnam, following a 4,600km tour across Europe. From the cobbles of Paris-Roubaix to the gradients of the Tourmalet, Gavin’s writing focuses on the "romance and brutality" of the sport. Having visited 50+ countries, he brings a global, cultural perspective to his coverage of the pro peloton for CyclingUpToDate.
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- It's Jonas's extremely early test that is very strange. Maybe they meant to test him at a more reasonable hour like 11pm, but couldn't drag themselves away from the World Cup.Hills3320-07-2026
- What I'm getting at is that while, yes it's possible, it's never happened before. While my wife and are from the US, our summer/fall home is in the Saint Martin de Belleville region. All of my friends in our neighborhood who are French (most of them) will not shut up about Paul Seixas, and while I understand why, it's almost mind numbing to listen to them. So I do believe that somebody in power pushed this and I do hope Paul can win the TdF one day, or in the next few years even, he is an awesome young man with scary abilities for his age. My new rule is when someone in France brings up Paul to me, after a few minutes, I bring Trump to them haha.awp20-07-2026
- So only non contenders should be woken up at 2am or 5am.
Andrew20-07-2026 - I don't believe a single (true) contender for the Tour has ever been awoken at 2am or even 5am.awp20-07-2026
- He is going to be one of the best or the best ever when he calls it donemd197520-07-2026
- So only none notable riders should ever be woken up and tested? It sucks, but it is what it is.Andrew20-07-2026
- crashes suck, and not to be cavalier, but they are a part of cycling. a better rider uses speed on descents to his advantage. of course in this case Jonas was ahead, but he might have been pushing a bit too hard. very unfortunate for him and the race. I really wanted to see an Alpe d’Huez battle royale between them.mij20-07-2026
- yeah, it was just a great finish all the way around. I like Remco. I like Tadej. IDT is awesome too. I was happy to see a contested finish.mij20-07-2026
- My question: What about in other years during the Tour since the introduction of CADF in 2015? The Answer: In other years, there are very few (if any) well-documented cases of notable riders being publicly woken in the middle of the night for doping tests during the Tour de France itself. The 2026 incident with Tadej Pogačar and Jonas Vingegaard appears to be a rare, high-profile example that drew significant attention. Pre-2026 ContextNighttime testing capability was introduced around 2015 by the UCI/CADF (now ITA) to counter potential micro-dosing of substances like EPO, which could clear by morning. Some tests occurred before the Tour (out-of-competition), and riders were occasionally woken then. During the race, strict French legal restrictions often limited or blocked true middle-of-the-night tests (e.g., 11 p.m.–6 a.m. window required specific suspicions and approvals). Most controls happened early morning (~6–7 a.m.) or post-stage. No major news stories highlight specific notable riders (e.g., yellow jersey contenders or top stars) being pulled from bed deep in the night during prior Tours in the same way as 2026. Discussions focused on the possibility rather than frequent occurrences.awp20-07-2026
- Tadej was the fastest up the hill on his TT bike on the TTT stage 1, so while Remco is the undisputed king of TT, he isn’t facing a slouch in Tadej. And if Tadej is really forced to ride in the big mountains to protect his win, rather than pacing IDT, Remco is toast.mij20-07-2026
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