The youngest of the cyclists mentioned is 28-year-old Venceslau Fernandes, who last season rode for the AP Hotels & Resorts - Tavira - SC Farense team and won the 2018 Volta a Portugal do Futuro. As a pro, Fernandes has never quite broken through and stepped out of the shadow of his father who had won the Volta a Portugal in 1984.
Luís Mendonça rode last season for the infamous
Sabgal / Anicolor. Mendonça was one of the big names talked about in relation to doping - since the word about suspensions of Frederico Figueiredo and Luís Mendonça got out in relation other case. Back then the Portuguese Anti-Doping Authority (ADoP) didn't want to confirm Mendonça among the suspected, but now there seems to be a certainty.
Luís Fernandes hung up his bicycle at the end of 2024, after a season with Credibom - LA Aluminios - Marcos Car. The Lisbon cyclist spent four years working for the Radio Popular - Paredes - Boavista team, where in 2022 he finished 4th overall at the Volta a Portugal, one of the most important results of his career.
With the unofficial publication of these three names, the five cyclists mentioned by the president of the Portuguese Anti-Doping Authority last September have been revealed: Frederico Figueiredo and Luis Mendonça, both from Sabgal / Anicolor Cycling Team, Luis Gomes from GI Group Holding - Simoldes - UDO, Luis Fernandes from Credibom - LA Aluminios - Marcos Car, and Venceslau Fernandes from AP Hotels & Resorts - Tavira - SC Farense, who are joined by Rafael Silva (Efapel) and Nuno Meireles (Louletano), who complete the list of cyclists captured by ADoP in 2024.