The International Testing Agency conducted blood tests on every rider remaining in the Tour de France during the race's rest day on July 20, the ITA confirmed, expanding its scrutiny after night-time doping tests on Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard drew fierce backlash.
The sweeping operation targeted the entire peloton under the athlete biological passport programme, introduced in cycling in 2008, with sampling staff from the French anti-doping agency AFLD assisting. Teams including Red Bull Bora, Decathlon CMA CGM and Groupama-FDJ confirmed inspectors visited them the day prior.
The Cyclistes Professionnels Associés denounced the nocturnal tests on Vingegaard and Pogacar, while the UCI acknowledged night checks can disrupt rest but said they remain exceptional. The UCI, which entrusted the ITA with its anti-doping programme in 2021, invests over 10 million euros annually in sample collection and analysis.