2am Doping Tests, a Broken Collarbone: The Night That Changed the 2026 Tour de France

Unannounced testing has been permitted at the Tour since 2016, but the UCI's own anti-doping rules (Article 5.2) state that between 11:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m., testing should only occur if the rider has identified a sixty-minute testing window, has consented to testing during that period, or if there is "serious and specific suspicion" of doping . Neither rider had consented to a nighttime window, according to reports .

Riders' and Teams' Reactions

The tests provoked widespread anger in the peloton.

• Tadej Pogačar described the procedures as "inhuman" and argued they may have been a factor — albeit a minor one — in Vingegaard's later crash. "First they wake him up at 2am for a control, which I think is very inhuman," Pogačar said after the stage. "It ruined his sleep" and being less focused when sleep is disrupted is a real concern .
• Remco Evenepoel called the overnight testing "scandalous" and said it was unacceptable for riders preparing for a decisive mountain stage .
• Matteo Jorgenson (Vingegaard's Visma teammate) said: "It's not ideal. Two o'clock in the night is not ideal" .
• Visma team boss Richard Plugge acknowledged the tests are part of keeping the sport clean but said "you don't want that during your night's rest" .
• Florian Vermeersch and several other riders joined the criticism, calling the timing unreasonable on the eve of the hardest Alpine stage .

ITA's Justification

The International Testing Agency issued a statement defending the night-time controls. The ITA said it must conduct tests at night to run an "effective" anti-doping programme that protects "the integrity of cycling races," and stressed that its testing activities were "subject to strict protocols" . The ITA acknowledged that "night-time testing may be disruptive to riders' rest and recovery" but argued it was necessary to detect substances that could otherwise be masked during daytime testing windows . The agency added that its activities were subject to "the safeguards established under the World Anti-Doping Code, the UCI Anti-Doping Rules and French law" .

Notably, under WADA rules testing between 11:00 p.m. and 5:00 a.m. is permitted only under "rare circumstances" — a point Pogačar highlighted in his criticism . The ITA's own chief had indicated months earlier a willingness to consider relaxing restrictions around nighttime testing .

Vingegaard's Crash and Abandonment

Stage 15 finished with a summit at Plateau de Solaison in the Alps. With just over 20 km remaining, as the GC contenders accelerated on the approach to the final climb, Vingegaard slid out on a right-hand corner off a roundabout and crashed heavily . He hit his shoulder on the kerb, and the fall also brought down Isaac Del Toro, Sepp Kuss and Felix Grossschartner . Vingegaard remained on the ground for approximately three minutes before being helped into a race ambulance with his arm in a sling . He was later diagnosed with a broken collarbone and forced to abandon the Tour de France . Visma-Lease a Bike confirmed he would require surgery .

Evenepoel's Stage Win

With Vingegaard out, the action at the front saw Remco Evenepoel (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) outpace Pogačar and Isaac Del Toro on the final climb to Plateau de Solaison to take his first Tour de France road stage victory . The Belgian withstood two attacks from Del Toro in the final 800 meters and beat Pogačar in a sprint to the line .

Stage 15 top five results:

Source: Official Tour de France results

Updated General Classification after Stage 15

With Vingegaard out of the race, Evenepoel moved up to second overall. The top five on GC were :

Pogačar retained the yellow jersey with a commanding lead, while Vingegaard's abandonment effectively removed his only remaining major GC challenger .