Portuguese cyclists Amaro Antunes, three-time Tour of Portugal champion, and João Benta were suspended this Monday by the Union Cyclists Internationale (UCI) for “using prohibited methods and/or prohibited substances”.
The updated list of cyclists suspended by the UCI includes the name of Amaro Antunes, winner of the 2017, 2020 and 2021 National Cycling Queen title, who announced his retirement on January 16.
“I announce that after much deliberation, I have decided to immediately leave professional cycling, which I took up 11 years ago. Last spring, my mother’s early death and the “Pure Proof” criminal case […] caused me to lose all the motivation and taste for training needed to have another full season,” he explained in a statement sent to Lusa’s agency.
The only one of the 11 W52-FC Porto cyclists who was not charged under Operation Prova Limpa – his colleagues were charged by prosecutors with trafficking in banned substances and methods – Antunes is now under the disciplinary jurisdiction of the UCI.
The Algarve said goodbye to cycling with three wins at the Tour of Portugal in the curriculum, in the 2021, 2020 and 2017 editions, this is “inherited” due to the doping ban of the winner, his Spanish comrade Raúl Alarcón.
According to the international federation, in addition to the 32-year-old Algarve player João Benta (Efapel), who announced a career break in early January, is also suspended for “use of prohibited methods and / or prohibited substances.”
“Unable to announce new colors as a result of a timely update with Efapel, I hereby declare my intention to put my career on hold. After personal and family reflections and with the full support of my team, I understand that I have not yet reached the mental states that I want to be at the level that I have become accustomed to over the past few years,” said the 36-year-old runner from Esposende in publications on the social network Facebook on January 4. .
Benta, who finished fifth in the 2020 Volta and won the 2015 Joaquim Agostinho Trophy, was one of the cyclists excluded from the 83rd “queen” race on the national calendar after searches were carried out by judicial police two days before the start of the race. racing “in places associated with cycling teams” as part of Operation Pure Evidence, a source connected to the investigation confirmed to Luce at the time, explaining that “the main goal was to collect evidence, namely documentation”.
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
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