UCI president David Lappartient has declared that cycling will "always have suspicion" - not exactly the rousing vote of confidence the sport was hoping for. Speaking at the start of stage two of the Tour de France Femmes in Aigle, Lappartient insisted this year's men's Tour was clean, while simultaneously endorsing night-time drug testing in "exceptional cases."

For those who missed the drama, Tadej Pogacar (five-time champion) and rival Jonas Vingegaard were roused from their slumbers at 5am and 2am respectively by the International Testing Agency (ITA) midway through the race. Lappartient clarified that the UCI won't support nightly disruptions - "The normal hours [of testing] are not in the night" - but he's all for surprise visits when the situation calls for it. His reasoning? Micro-dosing EPO, which apparently vanishes from the bloodstream in six to seven hours, making it a sneaky cheater's best friend. "For the riders to know that the ITA may come, that's always a fear," he said, which sounds less like a robust anti-doping strategy and more like psychological warfare.

Lappartient, who also sits on the International Olympic Committee alongside the embattled Fifa president Gianni Infantino, acknowledged cycling's checkered past: "We always have suspicion in cycling, due to our past." He stressed that night testing is a tool, but not for everyday use - "very exceptionally." It's not about suspecting any particular rider, he insisted, but sending "a global message to the bunch."

Re-elected unopposed for a third term in September last year, Lappartient took a moment to contrast his organization's governance with Fifa's ongoing woes. "I will not interfere in Fifa's matters," he said, before adding, "in the UCI transparency is important." He emphasized consulting teams, riders, and organisers before any reform of professional cycling. "I will not give advice to Fifa," he reiterated, "but I think it's important to work with this kind of transparency." Because nothing says transparency like telling the world you'll wake riders at 2am - just not every night.