Belgian Jasper Philipsen prevailed in a crowded rush to the finish line to win stage 17 of the Tour de France, moving within seven points of green jersey holder Mads Pedersen.
Overall leader Tadej Pogacar did not challenge for the stage and reached the finish line minutes later, remaining four minutes and 32 seconds ahead of Remco Evenepoel in the race for the yellow jersey.
EF Education-EasyPost’s Ben Healy crossed the line in 35th. The Irish rider moved up to 62nd in the general classification.
Meanwhile, The governing body of world cycling (UCI) on Wednesday defended night-time anti-doping tests at the Tour de France after controls involving Pogacar and rival Jonas Vingegaard drew criticism, saying the fight against doping remained an “absolute priority”.
Pogacar of UAE Team Emirates-XRG and Vingegaard of Visma-Lease a Bike, who has since withdrawn from the race, underwent unannounced anti-doping tests in the early hours of Sunday, at around 5am and 2am, respectively.
Pogacar retains the overall lead
The UCI said such checks were “exceptional” and carried out only in “limited and justified circumstances”, while stressing the importance of maintaining the integrity of the sport through rigorous anti-doping measures.
Slovenian rider Matej Mohoric said on Tuesday that he too had undergone a test at 5am during this year’s Tour, without specifying the date.
The night-time controls have been criticised by the international riders’ union CPA, which said this practice “runs counter to the intended objectives” because of their impact on riders’ recovery.
“Following a number of reactions in recent days to unannounced anti-doping controls carried out by the International Testing Agency (ITA) during the Tour de France – in particular following the statement issued by the association of professional riders (CPA) – the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) wishes to respond and to reaffirm that the fight against doping is an absolute priority,” cycling’s world governing body said in a statement.
“The UCI of course acknowledges that night-time testing can disrupt riders’ rest and recovery, and wishes to reiterate that carrying out such controls outside normal hours remains an exceptional measure, reserved for limited and justified circumstances,” it added.
The UCI said it “fully supports the ITA’s use of every means at its disposal to carry out its mission as effectively as possible.”
The ITA has managed the UCI’s anti-doping programme since 2021.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Movement for Credible Cycling (MPCC) called “to keep the light on these issues, and to support the development of anti-doping systems that are robust.”
“Cycling’s history has shown that weaknesses and loopholes within anti-doping and whereabouts systems can be vulnerable to exploitation,” the MPCC said.
“Identifying where such vulnerabilities may exist is therefore essential so that appropriate measures can be proposed to address them.”
The ITA said on Tuesday it had tested all riders still in the race on Monday’s second rest day as part of a comprehensive Athlete Biological Passport programme.