The Inner Ring
Monday, 20 July 2026 at 9:19 am
Note it’s not the UCI at work here but the ITA, the agency which has taken over testing from the UCI. But the rules all mimic the WADA Code. There’s also French law which overlaps that that anything intrusive, eg a house arrest should not happen at night unless necessary, eg police raid but is specific in the sports law that an anti-doping test should not happen at night unless there’s a “serious and consistent suspicion” (translated).
But it’s not as polemical as it sounds. If the ITA wanted it could probably argue suspicion on the grounds of a rider who is leading the Tour, leads the UCI rankings etc is already under surveillance.
As mentioned above, the ITA issued
a press release ahead of the race to say what they were doing and most of it is a PR announcement but it does say “Testing during the Tour de France will be targeted and may occur at any point during the three-week race, not just at stage finishes”.
Pogačar’s quote about it being “inhuman” gets all the headlines but his full quotes and those of Vingegaard too give more context and are more nuanced.