CYCLING: Tour de France riders undergo anti-doping blood tests

THONON-LES-BAINS, France — All remaining riders in the 2026 Tour de France underwent anti-doping blood tests on Monday as part of the Athlete Biological Passport program, the International Testing Agency (ITA) said.

The ITA confirmed reports from French newspaper Liberation on Tuesday, saying the additional testing complemented standard pre-competition checks conducted before the Grand Depart and any tests already carried out during the race.

"This mission complements the standard pre-competition testing conducted on all riders in the days preceding the Grand Depart and any test already conducted during the race," the ITA said in a statement.

"Collecting additional blood samples enables the ITA to assess variations in relevant hematological biological markers and strengthen the longitudinal monitoring of each rider’s individual profile."

Introduced in cycling in 2008, the biological passport system tracks selected biological variables over time to detect changes that could indicate possible doping activity.

Most teams said the latest round of testing was carried out during standard hours. The tests came a day after Slovenia's Tadej Pogacar and Denmark's Jonas Vingegaard were awakened in the early hours of Sunday for unannounced anti-doping checks ahead of the Tour's 15th stage.

Bahrain Victorious rider Matej Mohoric also told Slovenian media on Tuesday that he underwent an anti-doping test at 5 a.m. during this year's Tour de France, although he did not specify the date.

The timing of some unannounced tests has raised concerns among teams over possible disruptions to riders' sleep and recovery routines during the demanding three-week race.

-Reporting by Vincent Daheron in Thonon-les-Bains; Editing by Toby Davis/Reuters