The president of cycling's world governing body has defended unprecedented night-time drug tests carried out at this year's Tour de France, calling them a necessary weapon against micro-dosing rather than a sign of suspicion toward any individual rider.

UCI president David Lappartient, speaking at the start of stage two of the Tour de France Femmes in Aigle, Switzerland, said the sport would "always have suspicion" but insisted the 2026 men's Tour was clean. His remarks came after riders from five teams were tested between 11pm and 6am during the race — controls that had never been used before but have been possible since 2016 (The Guardian).

The tests drew criticism, prompting the UCI to issue a defending statement on July 22 (Reuters). The International Testing Agency (ITA) — the independent body that runs anti-doping for major events — conducted the controls. Among those pulled from bed were two of the race's biggest stars: Tadej Pogacar was tested at 5am, Jonas Vingegaard at 2am (The Guardian).

Lappartient, re-elected unopposed for a third term in September 2025, was clear about why the ITA went knocking in the small hours. Micro-doses of EPO — the blood-boosting drug that has haunted cycling for decades — cannot be detected six or seven hours after administration. Testing through the night narrows that window. "It is not suspicion about any rider," Lappartient said, "but a global message to the bunch."

He stressed the UCI would not support testing every night. Normal controls run during daytime hours. Night-time testing, he said, should remain an exceptional tool used only when the ITA has specific reason to act.

Aigle, where Lappartient spoke, is the home of the UCI's headquarters. The stage he was watching — the second of the Tour de France Femmes — covered 147.9 kilometres from the centre of town (Cyclingnews).

Night-time tests had been technically permitted for a decade but never deployed until this year's Tour (The Athletic). The BBC reported the scope: riders from five different teams roused for controls between 11pm and 6am (BBC Sport).

For cycling fans who have watched the sport lurch through doping scandal after doping scandal, the sight of testers visiting hotel rooms at 2am may feel both jarring and familiar. Lappartient's line — that suspicion never fully leaves the sport — is an honest one, and the fact that the UCI is willing to talk about it openly matters. Transparency, he said, involves consulting teams, riders and organisers on reforms rather than imposing change from above.

The balance now is between a deterrent that genuinely narrows the window for cheats and the basic rest riders need to recover and race the next day. Lappartient's answer to that tension: use the tool, but rarely, and with purpose.