The UCI has announced that it has handed a 20-day suspension from racing to Portuguese Continental team APHotels & Resorts-Tavira-SC Farense after two of the team's riders returned anti-doping rule violations within a 12-month period.
The suspension will run from October 23, 2025, to November 11, 2025, the UCI stated, following two instances of "unexplained abnormalities" in the athlete biological passport of two riders on the team.
Portuguese rider Venceslau Fernandes was notified by the Portuguese Anti-Doping Agency (ADoP) of an anti-doping rule violation on November 7, 2024, while Spanish racer Delio Fernández was notified by the UCI of one earlier this year, on July 7, 2025.
39-year-old Delio Fernández retired from racing in April and remains on the UCI's provisional suspensions list, while 29-year-old Venceslau Fernandes hasn't raced professionally since the end of 2024. The team has continued racing through the summer, with Jesús Peña delivering fourth overall at the Volta ao Portugal in August.
"In this context, the relevant dates to determine if the commission of the two violations occurred within the same twelve-month period shall be the period of time during which the riders used a Prohibited Method or a Prohibited Substance according to the Expert Panel’s evaluation of the Athlete Biological Passport (ABP).
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