Overview
- Unannounced anti-doping checks were carried out in the small hours before Stage 15, with Jonas Vingegaard tested at about 2:00 a.m. and Tadej Pogacar at about 5:00 a.m., according to multiple race reports.
- A Paris judge approved those night-time controls, and the International Testing Agency said the visits were legal and necessary to protect the sport's integrity.
- Hours after the tests on Sunday, Remco Evenepoel won the 183.9km Stage 15 to Plateau de Solaison while Vingegaard crashed about 20km from the finish, suffered a fractured collarbone and abandoned the race with surgery recommended.
- Riders and team officials have publicly criticised the timing of the overnight tests, saying sleep disruption can harm recovery and concentration and some suggested it may have contributed to Vingegaard's error.
- Formal sample analysis can take weeks and no anti-doping findings have been reported, so the immediate effects are sporting: Pogacar now leads by roughly five minutes with Evenepoel second and broader questions remain about night-time testing policy and rider welfare.