Jonas Vingegaard: It's important to talk about cycling's doping past

Two-time Tour de France winner Jonas Vingegaard has told the Danish media that he missed an out-of-competition anti-doping test in 2019 but that talking about cycling’s doping past is an important element of today’s sport and the fight against cheating.

In an interview with Ekstra Bladet, the Jumbo-Visma leader confirmed the circumstances of his missed test, stating the set of events that led to anti-doping testers arriving at the Dane’s house but receiving no response.

“I had my cell phone in the kitchen and our doorbell didn't work at the time. They tried to call me, but it soon became clear to them that it was impossible to reach me. That is of course not nice, but in the end, they came two days later,” he said.

“It's not nice to have a missed doping test hanging over your head. It is certainly something you think about afterwards, to ensure that it does not happen again,” Vingegaard added.

Riders can be tested during specific windows by anti-doping authorities. Riders must inform anti-doping agencies - both at a national and international level - of their whereabouts for a one-hour slot each day. The riders choose the specific hour but must be available for that slot should a test be required.

Missing a single test does not result in a sanction or punishment but three missed tests trigger an anti-doping violation that can result in a ban from competitive sport. Fellow Danish rider Alex Rasmussen was fired by his HTC-Highroad team in 2011 after missing three tests. He was cleared by his national federation but later saw the decision overturned by CAS, which resulted in a back-dated 18-month suspension.

Vingegaard added that the nature of out-of-competition testing was both necessary and a welcome step in combatting doping. The Dane also stated that he was tested between 60 and 70 times during the last year. The Jumbo-Visma rider also acknowledged that the world of anti-doping wasn’t always perfect and that riders in the past had tested negative but had still turned out to be cheating.

“It's a good thing to be tested all the time. But twenty years ago the riders were also tested. Somehow riders can still cheat, so I don't want to just say – as they used to do – that I am the rider who is tested the most. All my tests are negative, but riders have done business in the past and so people believe riders will do it again.

“I think it's a shame that we are suffering from what happened twenty to thirty years ago. I don't want to hide it. It happened and I still think it's important to talk about the past. Because if you just sweep it under the rug, it makes it seem like you don't care that people cheat. If you talk about it, you're more likely not to cheat, I think. Maybe it's a way to prevent it from happening in the future.”