By Julien Pretot
COURCHEVEL, France (Reuters) -Tour de France overall leader Jonas Vingegaard has undergone four anti-doping tests in the last two days, including one an hour before the start of Wednesday’s 17th stage, his Jumbo-Visma team said amid scepticism over the Dane’s performances.
Vingegaard extended his overall lead to one minute and 48 seconds over second-placed Tadej Pogacar with a stunning display in Tuesday’s individual time trial, which he won by 1:38.
Pogacar was second in the stage.
“It was already the fourth in two days,” a Jumbo-Visma spokesperson told Reuters on Wednesday.
“We are perfectly fine with it… We’ve been asking the International Cycling Union (UCI) to act like this actually.”
Pogacar and his team mates were also tested on Wednesday morning an hour before the start in Saint Gervais, a UAE Emirates spokesperson told Reuters.
Since 2021, the International Testing Agency (ITA) has been handling testing in cycling.
On the Tour de France, the overall leader is tested everyday and every stage winner has to undergo an anti-doping test as well.
In the last two days, both Vingegaard and Pogacar were asked if they understood the scepticism surrounding their impressive form.
“To be honest I fully understand the scepticism. We have to be sceptical, with what happened in the past, otherwise it would happen again,” Vingegaard told a press conference after Sunday’s 15th stage.
“We are riding fast, I must say that every stage we go full gas and it’s hard but I understand people asking questions because of what happened in the past,” Pogacar said on Monday.
“Some people don’t get over it and I completely understand them.”
In this year’s Tour, both riders have been a cut above the rest, leading the third-placed rider by more than five minutes after two weeks.
On Monday, Vingegaard’s performance was mind-boggling as he pulverised Pogacar over 22.4km in the time trial, resulting in Briton Adam Yates lagging a massive 8:52 off the pace overall.
It is the biggest gap between the leader and third-placed rider after two weeks on the Tour since 2001, when Lance Armstrong, who was stripped of his seven titles for doping, was leading Joseba Beloki by 9:05.
(Reporting by Julien Pretot; Editing by Christian Radnedge)
