Christian Prudhomme, the director of the Tour de France, has rejected accusations of bias towards French riders and launched a staunch defence of the night-time drug tests that were carried out during this year’s race.
Speaking at the start of stage 18 in Voiron, Prudhomme insisted that the International Testing Agency’s (ITA) testing practices did not favour any riders.
“We fought to have an independent agency, and now we have one,” he told the Guardian. “I have no desire whatsoever to interfere with their work. Not only am I not informed, I must not be informed.”
Prudhomme’s comments come in the wake of the Slovenian professional Matej Mohoric, who rides for the Bahrain Victorious team, appearing to imply that Paul Seixas, the 19-year-old French favourite, had been given preferential treatment by the ITA, saying in an interview on Tuesday that “it would be good to guarantee equal treatment for everyone.”
“After all,” Mohoric said, “we know that this French rider [Seixas], who is well placed in the general classification, didn’t undergo that [night-time] test.”
The ITA stressed its independence from French anti-doping authorities on Wednesday and Prudhomme underlined the significance for such autonomy. “The UCI has ensured that there is now an independent agency (ITA),” Prudhomme said. “I find out about testing at exactly the same time as you do – or often even after you do. I’m not informed beforehand, and nor should I be.”
Both the current race leader, Tadej Pogacar, and rival Jonas Vingegaard, who has abandoned the Tour, were tested at 5am and 2am respectively last Sunday morning. The tests have been described by the UCI as an “exceptional measure, reserved for limited and justified circumstances”.
The ITA, Prudhomme said, were fulfilling a long-wanted role in cycling. “In 2008 the Tour was actually organised without the UCI, under the authority of the French Cycling Federation, precisely so that independent anti-doping controls could be carried out.”
In a statement issued on Wednesday afternoon, the UCI said that the ITA’s activities demonstrate that “the fight against doping is an absolute priority”.
The statement continued: “The UCI acknowledges that night-time testing can disrupt riders’ rest and recovery” but added that “these controls serve an overriding interest: the fight against doping.”
“The ITA is doing the job it’s paid to do,” Prudhomme said. “I understand the riders’ emotions. My only question is whether this would happen in any other sport. But as far as we’re concerned, we wanted an independent agency. That’s exactly what we have and that’s what we asked for.
“Obviously these kinds of checks can’t take place every single night. In this case they happened between two mountain stages. But that’s their role. That’s what the ITA are there for.”
Prudhomme also rejected the notion that the unusual nature of these tests fuelled suspicion towards Pogacar, who is closing in on a record equalling fifth Tour win. Instead he pointed to cycling as now being a leader in anti-doping control across all sports.
“Pogacar is a rider who demonstrated exceptional talent from a very young age,” he said. “At just 20 years old, he finished third in the Vuelta a España and won stages in the race, which is an extraordinary achievement.
“What I ask is this: would these kinds of controls be carried out in every other major sport – including the world’s most popular one [football]? I’m not so sure.”
