The Tour de France is all wrapped up, but there are still plenty of discussions about some of the drama that took place off the bike. On the eve of his comeback race, the Tour of Denmark, Visma-Lease a Bike’s Wout van Aert weighed in on one of the biggest controversies of this year’sTour de France. He said the decision to wake Jonas Vingegaard for a 2 a.m. anti-doping test was “completely unacceptable.”

The test at the Tour de France

The Danish rider was tested in the early hours before Stage 15, a very tough mountain stage to Plateau de Solaison. Eventual Tour winner Tadej Pogačar was reportedly tested around 5 a.m. The overnight controls sparked debate throughout the race, with questions over whether the timing was justified.

Speaking to Het Nieuwsblad, Van Aert stressed that he of course supports rigorous anti-doping efforts but questioned why his teammate appeared to be singled out.

“I was shocked by it. I’ve never experienced anything like that myself,” Van Aert said. “If the anti-doping authorities have indications that such a time is necessary to detect certain substances, then I understand it. I’m absolutely in favour of proper controls.”

Did it affect Vingegaard’s race?

However, he took issue with the fact that Vingegaard was reportedly the only rider tested at 2 a.m. Although others were apparently tested, he was the only one in the literal middle of night.

“Jonas was the only one tested at two in the morning. Not a single other rider was woken at that time. It affects the race regardless, and for me that’s completely unacceptable,” he said.

“There simply has to be a clear line. One rider had his night’s sleep interrupted, and that had an impact on the race,” he said.

The next day after the late-night test, Vingegaard crashed out of the Tour, though there is no evidence linking the overnight test to the incident, but many suggested it. (Including none other than Pogačar.)

On late-night tests

Under UCI anti-doping rules, overnight tests between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. require “serious and specific suspicions that the rider may be involved in doping activities.” They have only been allowed in the past7 few years, and never have been used at high profile races. The Paris public prosecutor’s office told AFP that judges have jurisdiction to authorize such tests.
Amid the discussions about the unprecedented testing, The International Testing Agency (ITA) said to Feltet authorization for overnight testing “should not be interpreted as meaning that an athlete has committed an anti-doping rule violation.”

2026 Tour of Denmark

Van Aert will lead his Dutch team at the five-stage Tour of Denmark, which starts Wednesday. He also has a familiar name on his team, Toronto’s Ashlin Barry, who will be riding up from his usual conti level, to ride with the WorldTour team. Gaspé, Que.’s Pier-André Côté will also be racing, leading his NSN Cycling Team. The first stage is in Aalborg for a total of 197 km.