What to know about Tour de France nighttime testing – The rules, the results timeline, the ITA, reactions and more explained

There hasn't been a major doping scandal at the Tour de France for over a decade, but the decision to carry out nighttime anti-doping tests on multiple riders, including Tadej Pogačar and Jonas Vingegaard, at the 2026 Tour has resurrected the ghosts of the past, sparked a myriad of questions and huge debate about cycling's anti-doping strategy and whether the riders are treated fairly.

Pogačar shrugged off the disruption to his sleep but also described the nighttime testing as 'inhumane' and went so far as to suggest that Vingegaard's crash was sparked by his loss of sleep.

Since then, CPA rider's association president Adam Hansen has questioned why riders should pay so much for such disruptive anti-doping testing, while Jonathan Vaughters blew up the internet with a rare but succinct post on X.

Latest Videos From

Watch full video here:

"I’ll roll this grenade down the aisle: 2 am testing is one of the very effective ways to prevent peptide(EPO,hGH) and testosterone microdosing. If UCI had tested us in 2001 at 2 am? We’d all have been suspended and saved the sport 25 years of drama," the EF Education team manager said, in defence of nighttime testing.

After Monday's rest day, it emerged that the International Testing Agency (ITA) has carried out a swath of daytime testing and the UCI publicly defended the testing process "in the service of a cleaner and more credible sport of cycling."

This is Cyclingnews' explainer of pro cycling's anti-doping system and what the recent nighttime test of the Tour de France means for the sport.

Cycling's eternal doping problem

Ever since riders began to race long distances for glory, prize money and sponsors, doping has been part of their performances and so a threat to the fair results and image of the sport.

The Tour de France pioneers drank cognac, used chloroform and took cocaine and other stimulants to dull the pain of racing.

"The truth is that we keep going on dynamite," Francis Pélissier once famously told French writer and journalist Albert Londres.

Doping was made illegal in France in 1965, but doping scandals continued, as doping moved from amphetamines to steroids, blood doping, EPO abuse and the Lance Armstrong years and his eventual lifetime ban and the cancellation of his seven Tour de France victories. The Tour de France results have been rewritten many times over the years.

Who manages the anti-doping process?

For many years, the UCI managed anti-doping in the sport, but this arrangement was widely criticised as a conflict of interest, amid reports that some positive tests were not adequately pursued and long-standing concerns about the governing body's independence.

The International Olympic Committee pushed for an independent body to distance itself from doping scandals, and so the International Testing Agency (ITA) was created in 2018 and began to work with International Federations and major sporting events, including the summer and winter Olympic Games.

The ITA Cycling unit was created in 2021 and absorbed the UCI anti-doping operations. ITA Cycling had an initial budget of €7 million, paid for by riders via a 2.7% of all race prize money. The UCI also pays a contribution, while race organisers pay a percentage of their prize pot and teams pay a flat fee of €215,000.

The ITA budget has risen to €10 million in recent years, with the UCI highlighting a 35% budget increase between 2021 and the end of 2024.

In 2026, ITA took responsibility for anti-doping legal proceedings regarding anti-doping violations and whereabouts failures. This is alongside their operational anti-doping testing, the monitoring of athlete biological passports and intelligence-gathering and investigations.

Anti-doping at the 2026 Tour de France

Before the 2026 Tour de France, ITA announced it carried out 360 out-of-competition tests in the month before the race, with 600 in-competition tests expected during the race, based on testing strategy, intelligence and investigations priorities and operational requirements.

ITA said it would put an increased focus on the endogenous steroid markers measured in blood serum as part of the steroidal module of the Athlete Biological Passport and on the endocrine module of the ABP to better detect markers of human Growth Hormone (hGH) abuse.

“The Tour de France remains one of the most visible and demanding events in international sport from an anti-doping perspective," ITA Director General Benjamin Cohen said.

"Our 2026 program reflects the continued evolution of cycling’s anti-doping strategy through intelligence-led testing, scientific advancements, strengthened investigative capabilities and close cooperation with our partners. We remain committed to protecting the integrity of the race and ensuring that all riders compete under the same rules and conditions."

Being selected for a test, including out-of-hours, is a standard part of anti-doping controls and does not imply any suspicion of, or wrongdoing by, the riders concerned. Neither Pogačar nor Vingegaard nor the other riders who have been tested have been accused of any anti-doping violation.

Nighttime testing

ITA stated that testing would be targeted and may occur at any point during the three-week race, not just at stage finishes. However, nobody expected the headline-grabbing, disruptive and divisive nighttime tests.

One trusted source told Cyclingnews that nighttime testing had only ever been done once before. Suddenly the two biggest Tour riders were awoken for testing between two key mountain stages.

News of the testing only emerged after a report in La Parisien and subsequent confirmation by Pogačar and Vingegaard.

Cyclingnews understands that other teams have been visited for testing outside of the usual 6:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. window, which is not typical but which is provided for within the UCI's rules.

What the UCI rules say

The WADA code and the UCI anti-doping rules are clear, with UCI rule 5.2.2 stating: "The UCI may require any Rider over whom it has Testing authority, who has not retired, including Riders serving a period of Ineligibility, to provide a Sample at any time and at any place."

However, a comment below the rule specifies: "The UCI may obtain additional authority to conduct Testing by means of bilateral or multilateral agreements with other Signatories. Unless the Rider has identified a sixty (60) minute Testing window between the hours of 11:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m., or has otherwise consented to Testing during that period, the UCI will not test a Rider during that period unless it has a serious and specific suspicion that the Rider may be engaged in doping. A challenge to whether the UCI had sufficient suspicion for Testing during this time period shall not be a defense to an anti-doping rule violation based on such test or attempted test."

ITA carried out the nighttime tests within the UCI rules. As noted above, being selected for a test - including out-of-hours - does not in itself imply any suspicion of, or wrongdoing by, the riders concerned.

What is the French law for nighttime testing?

The Tour de France is held under UCI rules, but French law and nighttime tests are also permitted under specific circumstances.

It is important to distinguish between the UCI’s own testing rules — which permit out-of-hours testing where there is “serious and specific suspicion” — and the separate French judicial authorisation process under the Code for Sport. The two regimes operate independently, and the fact that either procedure was invoked does not constitute a finding or allegation that any rider has committed an anti-doping rule violation.

Under the French Code for Sport L232-14-4, an investigative judge 'des libertés et de la détention' (freedoms and detention) "verifies in all cases that there are serious and consistent suspicions against the athlete that he has contravened or will contravene the provisions of this chapter and a risk of disappearance of evidence." This provision governs judicial authorisation for testing where a rider's consent is not obtained, rather than defining the 11 p.m.-6 a.m. window itself, which sits in the related article L232-14-1.

Vaughters suggested that a French judge may sign off permission for nighttime testing based on little concrete evidence, but so far the details of ITA's legal request to test have not been revealed, citing the confidentiality of their anti‑doping strategy.

"The timing of a control is determined through a risk-based assessment that takes into account a range of relevant factors and information. It is therefore not arbitrary, but nor should it be interpreted as evidence that a rider has committed an anti-doping rule violation," ITA told Cyclingnews.

Of course, there is a clear difference and long legal process between any "serious and specific suspicion" and a confirmed "anti-doping rule violation" that usually ends with a suspension.

Extra testing on the Tour de France rest day

ITA claims its Tour de France anti-doping programme "features a targeted, intelligence-led testing plan grounded in the latest scientific developments and risk-based analysis.. However, on Monday's second rest day, they also carried out a mass testing of the peloton as part of the Athlete Biological Passport (ABP) programme.

All riders in the peloton were included in the testing mission, which forms part of the ITA’s ongoing intelligence - and risk-based anti-doping program for the race," ITA said in another statement.

"Collecting additional blood samples enables the ITA to assess variations in relevant haematological biological markers and strengthen the longitudinal monitoring of each rider’s individual profile."

The UCI's position

The UCI delegates its anti-doping procedures to ITA and issued a statement on Wednesday defending the nighttime testing and ITA's work.

"The UCI of course acknowledges that nighttime testing can disrupt riders' rest and recovery, and wishes to reiterate that carrying out such controls outside normal hours remains an exceptional measure, reserved for limited and justified circumstances. While fully aware of how onerous such a measure is for riders, the UCI nevertheless underscores that these controls serve an overriding interest: the fight against doping.

What happens next?

The Tour de France climbs into the Alps and then ends in Paris on Sunday.

Anti-doping tests usually take between seven and ten days to be analysed, with positive cases taking much longer due to the legal process and disciplinary process.

In theory, we should know the initial outcome of the nighttime tests before the Tour de France ends on Sunday evening. It will be up to the athletes involved to decide if they will immediately reveal the results of the tests.

The debate about the fairness and effectiveness of nighttime testing will surely run on much longer.

The world’s biggest bike race deserves world-class coverage. Subscribe to Cyclingnews for unlimited access to our unrivalled reporting of the 2026 Tour de France. From Barcelona through to Paris, our experienced team will bring you breaking news, expert insight, and in-depth coverage from every stage as the battle for the yellow jersey plays out. Plus, access the Cyclingnews app to follow the action on the go! Find out more.