Visma CEO Plugge critical of nighttime doping tests: 'Gives the impression that you’re targeting some more than others'

The nighttime doping tests were perhaps the biggest story of the 2026 Tour de France. The fact that Jonas Vingegaard and Tadej Pogačar were woken up at 2 a.m. and 5 a.m., respectively, was the talk of the town for quite some time. Visma team manager Richard Plugge believes that the image of both his team and the sport has been damaged.

It was before the fifteenth stage to the Plateau de Solaison that Vingegaard suddenly announced at the start that he had been woken up at 2 a.m. for a doping test. For Pogačar, it was 5 a.m. His teammates were furious, and it caused an unprecedented uproar right in the middle of the Tour de France.

Because even though the rules state that nighttime testing is only permitted in cases of “serious and consistent suspicions,” and a French judge would have granted permission in this situation, Visma | Lease a Bike received reassuring news from the ITA. “We understood that these tests were not to be seen as a sign of suspicion against us, nor as evidence of a rule violation—at least not for our team,” Plugge told l’Équipe.

The Dutchman also knows that there are certainly two sides to the story. “On the one hand, it means nothing, but on the other hand, it’s important to emphasize that it was just a test, a check." It’s probably clear that Plugge supports doping tests, especially given his previous work.

"I support the entire fight against doping and the fight for fair competition, and that is why, as president of the AIGCP (Association of Professional Cycling Teams, ed.), I have worked together with the ITA to implement a state-of-the-art anti-doping policy," the Dutchman explains.

So the Visma team manager also thinks it’s a good thing that there are so many tests in cycling these days. “But the way it was handled has damaged our team’s image and the integrity of our sport, because it has brought the word ‘doping’ back into the spotlight,” Plugge states emphatically.

The Dutchman explains, “I think that, in an effort to preserve the integrity of the sport, they have actually undermined it with these different methods and timing protocols for each rider. And I think that has influenced the race. We have to be careful not to damage the image of a team—or of the sport itself—because of this issue."

Plugge therefore asked aloud how things should proceed from here with testing in cycling. “We really need to think about how we can prevent this image from being tarnished, while at the same time maintaining the advanced methods that are characteristic of the sport of cycling.”

But, the team manager reiterates: “If there’s a need to conduct nighttime doping tests, then they should do so, regardless of whether it’s before a major mountain stage or not. But in that case, they should, for example, test the entire top 10, treating everyone the same—not one rider at 2 a.m., another at 5 a.m., and the rest a week before or after. It gives the impression that you’re targeting some more than others."