Jorgenson, Vermeersch, and Evenepoel furious after Pogočar and Vingegaard get 2am doping control visit

A night time doping test on the two top favorites, just before a crucial mountain stage. It sounds like a joke, but it actually happened on the night between Saturday and Sunday. Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard were woken up by doping inspectors. This has left their teammates—and their competitors—baffled.

Vingegaard was woken up by a call from the inspectors at 2 a.m., while Pogacar received a visit from the anti-doping inspectors three hours later. It disrupted their sleep and left them with only a short night’s rest, but they handled it well. “Well, that’s just how it is now. I can’t change it anymore,” said the Dane. “I feel for the inspectors. It’s not their fault. They’re just doing their job,” added Pogacar.

The teammates of the two stars, however, found it less acceptable. Florian Vermeersch thought it was bizarre. “Tadej handled it well, but I think it’s almost inhuman, insane,” the Belgian told *Het Laatste Nieuws*. “As far as I know, this is also the first time it’s been this early. People will say we’re complaining and whining. It’s ridiculous: I think Tadej only got 5 hours of sleep. Does that make him extra fired up? Who knows—maybe it’ll give him energy.”

Matteo Jorgenson didn’t go easy on the officials either. “I was asked to keep my opinion on this to myself,” the American said. "But this is a complete lack of respect for the riders. We’re working hard to recover. That’s incredibly important, especially between two of the toughest mountain stages in this Tour. And then you get woken up at 2 a.m. That really makes me furious."

It wasn’t just his teammates who were baffled. Remco Evenepoel was informed, and the Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe team leader couldn’t make head or tail of it. “At 2 a.m.? That’s impossible. No, that’s not allowed? That doesn’t make sense,” he stammered. “What would I say if they were standing by my bed at that hour? Nothing, because I’d just keep sleeping,” the Belgian concluded.