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<\/p>\nA Portuguese rider did not challenge the sanction in what’s the latest in an apparent uptick in doping enforcement by the UCI using the biological passport.<\/p>\n
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The UCI confirmed a four-year ban in the latest biological passport case. (Photo: Tim de Waele\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Updated December 17, 2025 11:06AM<\/p>\n
The UCI<\/a> confirmed a racing ban in the latest doping case involving the athlete\u2019s biological passport<\/a> program.<\/p>\n Portuguese rider Ant\u00f3nio Carvalho Ferreira is sidelined for four years after anti-doping authorities identified unexplained abnormalities in his biological profile across multiple seasons, the UCI confirmed Wednesday.<\/p>\n The UCI said Ferreira committed an \u201canti-doping rule violation involving the use of a prohibited substance and\/or method,\u201d based on abnormal biological markers recorded in 2018, 2023 and 2024, the UCI said.<\/p>\n Ferreira\u2019s period of ineligibility will run until November 3, 2029. Ferreira \u2014 who received a provisional ban last month \u2014 did not challenge the allegations.<\/p>\n Ferreira\u2019s sanction adds to a growing list of biological passport cases initiated in recent months.<\/p>\n The biological passport, introduced more than a decade ago to track long-term variations in an athlete\u2019s blood and steroid profiles, is one of cycling\u2019s most controversial enforcement tools.<\/p>\n It allows authorities to pursue cases without a positive drug test when data suggests anomalies in biological markers. It was most often used to deploy target testing against suspicious riders.<\/p>\n It\u2019s recently seen a revival as an enforcement tool, however, following a string of high-profile cases, including WorldTour rider Oier Lazkano<\/a>, who was released by Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe for questions about the period before he joined the team.<\/p>\n Last week, Unibet Rose Rockets fired a rider in similar circumstances,<\/a> whose case also pre-dated joining the team.<\/p>\n