"The lowest number ever recorded since the Festina affair" - One doping case found at World Tour level in 2022, 29 cases reported in total
Cycling
The MPCC has rounded up the numbers for the instances of use of prohibited substances in 2022, coming to a conclusion that 29 riders in total were sanctioned by these practices, but only one of them discovered at World Tour level.
The Movement for a Credible Cycling is one of the institutions that follows doping in cycling the closest, and have gathered data from many entities over the year to make the conclusions from the current trends in cycling. 23 out of the 29 cases were found in male riders, and only one of them being at World Tour level, being that of Nairo Quintana who had his Tour de France results removed following two separate positive tests for the painkiller Tramadol, which is banned in-competition.
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“This is actually the lowest number ever recorded since the Festina affair!” the statement said. However, as Quintana rode with Arkéa Samsic which was a Pro Team in 2022, effectively none of these cases were shown within World Tour teams. The numbers are largely been influenced by the Portuguese doping scandal which saw the end of W52-FC Porto team, with as many as a dozen riders and managers suspended.
“In 2022, the large majority of doping proceedings in top-level cycling concerned semi-professional men riders from continental road teams (12 cases),” the report continued. “The Portuguese team W52-FC Porto was even disbanded after the police revealed possible organised doping.”
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In Colombia criticism has been high in regarding to Quintana's sanctions on the MPCC, which comments on the climber: “His team nevertheless remained in compliance with the rules of our movement, as the rider was immediately banned from competition by his team Arkéa-Samsic, which did not keep him on the squad at the end of the season.”
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A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
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Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
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Les chiffres de la crédibilité de l'année 2022 📊 10 cas de plus que l'an dernier dans le cyclisme : un constat qui interpelle le MPCC 🔗 mpcc.fr/chiffres-de-la…
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