Waiting for Results of Anti-Doping Tests at the Tour de France? Don’t Hold Your Breath

Amid the hullabaloo about controversial night time testing at the Tour de France, there was much talk about when the results of those tests would be made publicly known.

The answer is, they might never be.

In the early hours of July 19 Jonas Vingegaard and Tadej Pogačar had an unwelcome disruption to their sleep, with knocks on the door coming at 2am for Vingegaard and 5am for Pogačar. The anti-doping tests are allowed under the rules but special permission must be given by a French judge, something that was likened to a warrant by sports scientist Ross Tucker.

The aim? To try to stamp out any chance of microdosing, or the use of tiny amounts of a banned substance which would be undetectable after a few hours.

Other riders were also subjected to such testing too, with Matej Mohorič confirmed he was one of those.

Now, a week later, many are wondering what the outcome of those tests actually was.

Put away the popcorn, as you might be twiddling your thumbs for a long, long time.

“Timelines depend on the type of sample and the analyses requested,” the International Testing Agency clarified in a statement to Velo Sunday. “They can generally range from a few days to one week, or even several weeks.

“In the case of the Athlete Biological Passport, the results are integrated very quickly into the rider’s longitudinal profile. Their interpretation is therefore not limited to a single positive or negative result and may continue over time.”

This will include the data from daily stage testing at the Tour, as well as the mass tests carried out before the race and on the two rest days.

Very limited disclosure of results

There have been some occasions when the absence of positive tests at the Tour de France would be announced. It was a form of ‘all clear, nothing to see here,’ and would see aficionados of the sport breathe a sigh of relief.

It happened in October 2009, over a year after a number of positive tests for CERA at the 2008 lead to retesting of other samples from that race. The French anti-doping agency AFLD scrutinized again the samples of 17 riders, and finally gave a public all clear.

The ITA confirmed something like that is no longer something that could happen.

“No public communication is made regarding negative results,” it told Velo.

“There is no date from which all tests can be considered definitively negative.”

In fact, the ITA made clear that the only time you’ll hear from the agency in relation to the Tour testing is if something is actually amiss.

“In accordance with its Public Disclosure Policy, the ITA communicates when a case results in the imposition of a mandatory provisional suspension or, at a later stage, when an anti-doping rule violation is confirmed and a sanction is imposed.”

Other than that, the data is kept private, and can remain in play for a lot longer than you might think.

“In accordance with the World Anti-Doping Code, samples may be stored for up to ten years and reanalysed at any time,” it stated. “For example when new information becomes available or new analytical methods are introduced.

“Athlete Biological Passport data are also subject to longitudinal monitoring. Their evolution may contribute to the detection of an anti-doping rule violation at a later stage.”

It all sounds very uncertain, but is actually a good thing. The possibility that samples could be re-examined at any time should have a dissuasive effect and, ideally, help keep things honest.

So too nighttime tests, even if they are a pain for those trying to get some shuteye.