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For a small country with only a population of 10 million Portuguese cycling has seen a string of doping scandals and numerous individual cases recently, including just this week.

Veteran road racer Antonio Carvalho (FEIRENSE-BEECELER) was provisionally suspended by the UCI on Tuesday due to unexplained Athlete Biological Passport abnormalities in 2018, 2023 and 2024. The 36 year-old team leader and mentor to a half dozen twenty-something cyclists was previously a member of W52-FC PORTO, a team that saw seven of its riders banned for anti-doping violations in 2022.

Last month the Portuguese development team APHOTELS & RESORTS-TAVIRA-SC FARENSE was suspended from competition for 20 days after two of its riders each allegedly committed anti-doping violations within a 12 month period. 29 year-old Venceslau Fernandes and 39 year-old team leader/mentor Delio Fernandez were both provisionally suspended for unexplained abnormalities with their Athlete Biological Passport data.

Other Portuguese cyclists on lower level pro-am teams caught up in recent doping controversies include:

October 2024 Frederico Figueiredo (SABGAL/ANICOLOR), 34, alleged Biological Passport abnormalities. Provisional suspension.

January 2025 Luis Mendonça (SABGAL/ANICOLOR), 39, alleged Biological Passport abnormalities. Provisional suspension.

January 2025 Luis Fernandes (CREDIBOM – LA ALUMINIOS – MARCSO CAR), 37, alleged Biological Passport abnormalities. Provisional suspension.

October 2024 Luis Gomes (GI GROUP HOLDINGS – SIMOLDES – UDO), 31, alleged Biological Passport abnormalities. Provisional suspension.

January 2024 Rafael Silva (EFAPEL), 34, alleged Biological Passport abnormalities from 2015. Provisional suspension.

November 2023 Nuno Meireles, (AVILUDO- LOULETANO – LOULE CONCELHO), 34, Biological Passport abnormalities. Banned six years.

Also, Portuguese paracyclist Luis Miguel Pinto Costa, 51, received a two year ban in May 2025 after testing positive for the prohibited substance Chlorthalidone at the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris, France.

An Athlete Biological Passport is an individual electronic record of an athlete’s biological markers and anti-doping test results gathered over a period of time. Doping violations can be detected via data variances outside permissible limits based on an athlete’s established historical levels.

Note: Provisionally suspended athletes are presumed innocent until an anti-doping court hears their case and renders a verdict, but in the meantime they are not allowed to participate in sport in any capacity.

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