Jumbo-Visma and UAE Team Emirates given additional anti-doping tests before Stage 17

Doping inspectors paid a visit to the Jumbo-Visma and UAE Emirates teams inside their respective team buses one hour prior to the start of Stage 17 from Saint-Gervais Mont-Blanc to Courchevel, according to a report in WielerFlits. Both teams, which include yellow jersey Jonas Vingegaard, and white jersey Tadej Pogačar had their riders subjected to an additional blood check during this inspection.

Jonas Vingegaard went so fast he thought his power meter was broken

Jumbo-Visma and UAE Emirates welcome additional tests

“I applaud this,” Jumbo-Visma team manager Richard Plugge said to WielerFlits. “In fact, I’ve been working hard for this as well. In this way, we are taking another step in the fight against doping. Jonas Vingegaard has had no fewer than four blood tests in the last 48 hours. We are happy to work on this.” Vingegaard has been tested four times in the past two days, according to Reuters.

UAE Emirates also welcomed the additional checks. “I think this is only good for cycling. We have no problem with this,” a UAE Emirates spokesperson told WielerFlits.

Tests are to rule out blood doping

In 2022, several teams put considerable effort into conducting blood checks right before the race’s start and immediately after its conclusion. They have been urging both the UCI and the anti-doping agency WADA to adopt a more rigorous approach to combat doping. The teams have implemented these blood checks to eliminate the possibility of blood doping, which was exposed during the ‘Operation Aderlass‘ doping criminal case involving the German ‘doping doctor’ Mark S in 2021. The alarming ease with which athletes were able to engage in blood doping prompted teams to emphasize the need for cycling to remain vigilant against such practices.

Jonas Vingegaard went so fast he thought his power meter was broken

“Aderlass did indeed indicate that athletes inject blood through an IV just before and after the competition and then drain it again. Clear evidence was the images of cross-country skier Max Hauke”, professor Peter van Eennoo of the DoCuLab Ghent said to WielerFlits in 2022.

The process for that form of doping begins in the winter, typically right before a vacation when the likelihood of an out-of-competition check is low. At that time an athlete removes a certain amount of blood, van Eennoo explained. This blood is then reinfused in the morning after the regular doping checks in the hotel but before a competition race begins.

Later that same day, after completing the stage and arriving back at the hotel or during the journey back, the athlete drains the blood again, the Dutch professor said. By having more blood in the body during the competition, the athlete gains additional red blood cells, which creates better oxygen uptake and thus improved endurance.