The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) and International Testing Agency (ITA) have dealt another significant blow to Portuguese cycling, announcing the provisional suspension of semi-professional continental team Feirense Beeceler for a period of 22 days, running from 22 March through to 12 April 2026.
The ban was handed down by the UCI Disciplinary Commission on Monday under provisions within the UCI Anti-Doping Rules that allow for team-wide suspension when multiple riders or staff members from the same squad accumulate anti-doping rule violations within a rolling 12-month window. In Feirense’s case, three riders (Venceslau Fernandes PRT, Barry Frederik Miller USA, Antonio Carvalho Ferreira PRT) from the team composed primarily of twenty-something year olds were implicated following abnormalities identified within their Athlete Biological Passport profiles, each recorded as an Adverse Passport Finding.
The Athlete Biological Passport is a monitoring system that tracks physiological markers in riders over time, flagging unusual fluctuations that may indicate the use of prohibited substances or methods. An Adverse Passport Finding is only confirmed after a panel of three independent experts reaches unanimous agreement that doping is the most probable explanation, with no credible alternative rationale available.
The case echoes a similar episode from October 2025, when another Portuguese continental squad received a comparable team ban following biological passport irregularities among its riders – highlighting a disturbing trend in the Portuguese peloton.
The UCI decision remains open to appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Photo Credit: X/FeirenseCycling
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