If you were following the Tour de France this year, you may have noticed some of the off-the-bike drama that happened. It was a super-exciting race, for sure, but there are plenty of discussions about some of the drama that happened outside of the race itself. On the eve of his comeback race, The Tour of Denmark, Visma-Lease a Bike’s Wout van Aert weighed in on one of the biggest controversies of this year’s Tour de France. He said the decision to wake Jonas Vingegaard for a 2 a.m. anti-doping test was “completely unacceptable.”

The controversial early morning tests

The Danish rider was tested in the early hours before Stage 15, a very tough mountain stage to Plateau de Solaison. Eventual Tour winner Tadej Pogačar was reportedly tested around 5 a.m. The overnight controls sparked debate throughout the race, with questions over whether the timing was justified.

Speaking to Het Nieuwsblad, Van Aert stressed that he supports rigorous anti-doping efforts but questioned why Vingegaard appeared to be singled out.

“I was shocked by it. I’ve never experienced anything like that myself,” Van Aert said. “If the anti-doping authorities have indications that such a time is necessary to detect certain substances, then I understand it. I’m absolutely in favour of proper controls.”

Rotten treatment to the Dane?

However, he took issue with the fact that Vingegaard was reportedly the only rider tested at 2 a.m. Although others were apparently tested, he was the only one in the literal middle of night.

“Jonas was the only one tested at two in the morning. Not a single other rider was woken at that time. It affects the race regardless, and for me that’s completely unacceptable,” he said. “There simply has to be a clear line. One rider had his night’s sleep interrupted, and that had an impact on the race.”

About 14 hours after the visit from anti-doping officials, Vingegaard crashed out of the Tour, though there is no evidence linking the overnight test to the incident, but many suggested it. Including none other than Pogačar.

Under UCI anti-doping rules, overnight tests between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. require “serious and specific suspicions that the rider may be involved in doping activities.” They have only been allowed in the past few years, and never have been used at high profile races. The Paris public prosecutor’s office told AFP that judges have jurisdiction to authorize such tests.

Amid the discussions about the unprecedented testing, The International Testing Agency (ITA) said that authorization for overnight testing “should not be interpreted as meaning that an athlete has committed an anti-doping rule violation.”