Both Jumbo Visma and UAE Team Emirates underwent additional anti-doping blood tests ahead of Wednesday's Queen stage of the Tour de France.

WielerFlits reports that the teams of race leader Jonas Vingegaard and second-place finisher Tadej Pogachar received a visit from inspectors in the morning before the 17th stage to Courchevel.

Riders from both teams underwent blood tests in Saint-Gervais-Mont-Blanc one hour before the start of the Alpine stage. Jumbo Visma and UAE Team Emirates are dominating the overall battle in this Tour, holding the yellow jersey for all but one day and sweeping three podiums following stage 16.

Taking a blood test just before the start of a stage would, in theory, expose riders adopting practices brought to light by Operation Adelas.

Research conducted with clients of German physician Mark Schmidt (including cyclists and cross-country skiers) found that athletes can beat the tests by reinjecting blood just before competition (i.e., after an early morning test) and draining it later in the day .

This testing is not unprecedented in recent years in the Tour de France; in 2019, Jumbo Visma had his blood tested 45 minutes before the start of stage 18.

Team manager Richard Plagge told WielerFlits that he welcomed the tests, noting that Wingegaard, who leads Pogachar by 1:48 but is nearly nine minutes behind the rest of the field, has been tested four times in the last two days.

"I applaud this," he said. 'In fact, I worked hard for this. Thus, we have taken another step in the fight against doping." Jonas Vingegaard has had his blood tested at least four times in the last 48 hours. We are delighted to be part of this."

That's the Tour de France. We know Jonas very well and we know what he will do. It's up to them. It's up to them.

We are preparing for the Tour de France. We know Jonas and we have no doubts.