Naesen points to growth hormone in Tour night testing controversy

Speaking on the HLN Wielerpodcast, the Belgian was discussing the overnight controls carried out on Jonas Vingegaard and Tadej Pogačar when he shared what he had heard about the wider testing operation.

“There are doping products that remain in your blood for only about three hours,” Naesen said. “I hear that they are looking for growth hormone. It is the first time I have heard anything about it, this hunt for growth hormone.”

Neither the International Testing Agency nor the French authorities have confirmed which substance, method or information prompted the controls. Naesen also did not identify the source of his information.

He said the possibility of substances having such a short detection window presented anti doping authorities with a difficult question.

“To what extent should you be able to test riders at every moment of the day?” Naesen said. “When there really are doping products that remain in your blood for only three hours, that may be tempting.”

Testing during the night can disrupt a rider’s sleep and recovery, but Naesen acknowledged that authorities also need to conduct controls at moments when they are most likely to be effective.

“Anti doping authorities also have to test at a moment when it matters,” he said. “And yet I have absolutely no knowledge of there being doping in the peloton.”

Naesen described testing as a normal and accepted part of professional cycling. He said he had undergone a control himself the previous week and found the process respectful and informal.

“I was tested last week,” he said. “They were very respectful people. You have a coffee together and it is pleasant. You have to sit down for ten minutes before they take your blood. That is all perfectly fine. It is handled in a very amicable way.”

For Naesen, however, waking riders in the middle of the night raises a broader question about how far authorities should be permitted to go.

“It is all part of the sport and it is mutually accepted and encouraged,” he said. “But two in the morning is extreme. I think you have to find a limit to what you can put an athlete through.”

“Doping controls are obviously part of the sport, but I have never experienced a control in the middle of the night. That does not happen in any other sport.”