Both Jumbo-Visma and UAE Team Emirates were subjected to additional anti-doping blood tests ahead of Wednesday’s queen stage of the Tour de France.
The teams of race leader Jonas Vingegaard and second-placed Tadej Pogačar were paid a visit by testers in the morning ahead of stage 17 to Courchevel, according to a report by WielerFlits.
Riders from both squads were subjected to blood tests in Saint-Gervais Mont-Blanc an hour before the start of the Alpine stage. Jumbo-Visma and UAE Team Emirates have dominated the general classification battle at this year’s Tour, holding the yellow jersey for all but one day of the race and, following stage 16, occupying all three podium positions.
Taking blood tests shortly before the start of stages would, in theory, catch out any riders employing practises brought to light by Operation Aderlass.
The investigation was centred on clients of German doctor Mark Schmidt – including several cyclists and cross-country skiers – found that athletes could beat tests by re-infusing blood shortly before competition (and thus after any early morning testing) before draining it later in the day.
The testing isn’t without precedent at the Tour de France in recent years. Back in 2019, Jumbo-Visma underwent blood tests 45 minutes ahead of the start of stage 18.
Team manager Richard Plugge told WielerFlits that he welcomed the tests, noting that Vingegaard, who leads Pogačar by 1:48 while lying almost nine minutes clear of any other rider, has been tested four times in the last two days.
“I applaud this,” he said. “In fact, I also worked hard for it. In this way, we’re taking another step in the fight against doping. Jonas Vingegaard has had no fewer than four blood tests in the last 48 hours. We are happy to participate in this.”
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