All Tour de France riders drug tested, says anti-doping body

All riders still competing at the Tour de France were drug tested on Monday's rest day, the International testing Agency (ITA) doping control body said in a statement.

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Several teams, including the Red Bull-Bora Hansgrohe outfit of Olympic champion Remco Evenepoel had said on Tuesday that they were tested the previous evening.

That came after controversial tests early on Sunday morning targeting race leader Tadej Pogacar and his chief rival Jonas Vingegaard, who crashed out of the race hours after being woken at 2am by doping controllers.

"The International testing Agency (ITA) confirms that a comprehensive blood Athlete Biological Passport (ABP) testing mission was carried out during the Tour de France rest day on 20 July 2026," ITA said in a statement late on Tuesday.

"All riders in the peloton were included in the testing mission, which forms part of the ITA's ongoing intelligence and risk-based anti-doping programme for the race."

ITA did not divulge any results and a spokesperson told AFP they would take weeks to process.

The ITA explained the ABP "does not seek to detect a prohibited substance or method directly" but rather "monitors selected biological variables over time to identify changes that may indicate the effects of doping".

Several riders, including Pogacar and Evenepoel, had branded the night-time tests as "inhumane" and disrespectful.

The CPA union which represents professional cyclists also blasted the process for its potential detrimental effects to a rider's rest and recovery between tough Tour stages.