2026 GFNY Potosi - Register NOW!
United States | Midwest | Ohio >> Two UCI Gran Fondo Champions suspended for suspected doping

Two UCI Gran Fondo Champions suspended for suspected EPO doping

Two Spanish cyclists have been suspended following anti-doping tests, suspected EPO use

45-year-old Spanish cyclist Raúl Portillo was crowned UCI Gran Fondo champion in the Time Trial and Gran Fondo in 2018.

45-year-old four time Spanish cyclists Raúl Portillo was crowned UCI Gran Fondo champion in the Time Trial and Gran Fondo in 2018.

The other rider named is 36-year-old Basque rider José Antonio Larrea.

EPO, short for erythropoietin, is used to increase the number of red blood cells and hence oxygen supply to the body, which is performance enhancing.

Portillo won in the 45-49 age category group at the 2018 UCI Gran Fondo World Championships in Varese. He was also fastest overall by covering the 22.5 kilometre Time Trial course in 28 minutes 15 seconds, an average speed of 46.7kph. 

>>> 2,400 cyclists tackle 2018 UCI Gran Fondo World Championships in Italy <<<

Portillo trains regularly in Andorra and rides for the Norinver Cycling Team.

Portillo won the 2018 Three Days of Mallorca masters race, attended by a host of masters racers worldwide.

He also won Spanish races, the Volta a la Marina Alta-Parcent and the Trofeo Ayunt.Pielagos-Carandia in 2018.

Both of the riders were subject to targeted testing and that “authorities were alerted by their victories.”

Portillo is rumoured to have stated "I can only tell you that in the last control I took, they tell me that it is positive. I do not agree with this and I am waiting for the report of the result and the analysis of the sample.”

Both riders have been suspended by the Basque Anti-Doping Agency (AVA) and internationally this suspension is supported by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).

A 2015 report by the UCI’s Independent Commission for Reform in Cycling stated that: “Masters races were said to have middle-aged businessmen winning on EPO, with some of them training as hard as professional riders and putting in comparable performances.”

The report also stated that professional riders avoided Gran Fondos “because they were so competitive due to the number of riders doping”.

Both suspended riders have the right for their B samples to be tested.

Officially both riders are innocent until proven guilty and all doping tests follow strict rules and guidelines. The sustance for which they have been suspended for, is officially "unidentified". 

Rumours in the Spanish press point to EPO as the substance.

More on this story to follow in due course ...

 
Tag: ucigfws
 
Oct 04 2026 - NEWS: 2026 UCI Granfondo Tre Valli Varesine Results: Rasa Rumsaite and Alessio Ferraro Morey take Victory
Oct 02 2026 - NEWS: Haute-Savoie Mont-Blanc 2027 reveals Gran Fondo World Championship courses
Sep 25 2026 - NEWS: 2027 UCI Gran Fondo World Championships to be held in France
Sep 13 2026 - NEWS: 2026 UCI Amy’s Great Ocean Road Gran Fondo Results: Dani Chattenton and Leigh Phillips Fastest
Sep 13 2026 - NEWS: 2026 UCI Gran Fondo Matildica Results: Virginia Becchetti and Simone Impellizzeri take Victory
Sep 03 2026 - NEWS: Team USA Shines with 16 Medals at UCI Gran Fondo World Championships
Aug 31 2026 - NEWS: 2026 UCI Gran Fondo World Championship Results UCI Official Road Race
Aug 30 2026 - NEWS: Unofficial 2026 UCI Gran Fondo World Championships Results Road Race
Aug 28 2026 - NEWS: 2026 UCI Gran Fondo World Championships Team Relay Results
Aug 27 2026 - NEWS: 2026 UCI Gran Fondo World Championships Time Trial Results
Aug 28 2026 - NEWS: Irishman Paul Kennedy forced to ride competitors bike
Aug 11 2026 - NEWS: Provisional Starlist Released for 2026 UCI Gran Fondo World Championships in Niseko, Japan
Jul 12 2026 - NEWS: Jennifer Powell and Jort Dockx Take Victory at the 2026 Majestics UCI Granfondo Suisse
Jul 06 2026 - NEWS: Filensky and Hoogerland take Victory at 2026 UCI Tour de Mátra Gran Fondo
Jun 22 2026 - NEWS: Levene and Hadzhistoyanov take victory at inaugural 2026 UCI Gran Fondo Bulgaria
Sep 15 2016 - RESULTS: Record 5,500 riders at 6th Edition of Amys Gran Fondo
Sep 04 2016 - RESULTS: 17 new UCI Gran Fondo World Champions in Australia
Jun 06 2016 - RESULTS: 8,000 cyclists take part in the UK Tour of Cambridgeshire UCI Gran Fondo
Nov 01 2026 - EVENT: UCI Gran Fondo Greece Loutraki
Nov 06 2026 - EVENT: UCI Gran Fondo Antalya
Nov 08 2026 - EVENT: UCI Granfondo Brazil
Nov 14 2026 - EVENT: Granfondo Ecuador
Nov 21 2026 - EVENT: Gran Fondo de Guatemala
Nov 29 2026 - EVENT: Gran Fondo Colombia
Dec 06 2026 - EVENT: Granfondo La Guadeloupe
Dec 11 2026 - EVENT: UCI Gran Fondo Hainan
Feb 14 2027 - EVENT: Spinneys Dubai 92 Cycle Challenge
Mar 14 2027 - EVENT: The Millars Gran Fondo
Mar 14 2027 - EVENT: Cape Town Cycle Tour
Mar 26 2027 - EVENT: Cyprus Gran Fondo
Mar 26 2027 - EVENT: UCI Cyprus Gran Fondo
Apr 04 2027 - EVENT: UCI Tour de Brisbane
Apr 25 2027 - EVENT: Neusiedlersee Radmarathon
 
2027-28 Gran Fondo Calendar
2027-28 Gravel Fondo Calendar
2027-28 Cycling Event Series Worldwide
Build Your Own Bucket List of Cycling Events