UCI suspends well-known Colombian team Medellín-EPM for 30 days

The international cycling union UCI has suspended Team Medellín-EPM – one of the leading teams in the Colombian cycling circuit – for one month. The disciplinary committee's measure follows two doping cases within a twelve-month period.

The UCI Disciplinary Committee, through the International Testing Agency (ITA) as an independent body, has issued a suspension from March 27, 2026, to April 25, 2026. This is due to two positive doping cases involving riders from Team Medellín-EPM within one year.

Fabio Duarte
Colombian cyclists Aldemar Reyes (former pro rider with Manzana Postobon) and Fabio Duarte (ex-pro with teams like Geox-TMC and Team Colombia) have been notified of irregularities in their biological passports. In Reyes' case, there are unexplained fluctuations between February and August 2023, and for Duarte between July and December 2024 and January 2025.

Both riders, who are no longer active professionals, have also been provisionally suspended by the UCI. As a result of this sanction, Team Medellín-EPM – the team of the now 49-year-old but still active Óscar Sevilla – will miss several UCI 2.2-level stage races, such as the Clásica de Jamaica and the Tour of the Gila in the United States.

Duarte defeated Simone Ponzi and John Degenkolb in Varese – photo: Fotopersburo Cor Vos

From World Champion to Suspension

Fabio Duarte – who is provisionally suspended due to fluctuations in his biological passport – was once hailed as the new Colombian cycling sensation. In 2008, he became the under-23 world champion in Varese and seemed poised to storm the cycling elite, but the explosive climber ultimately never broke through at the very highest level.

Over the years, there were some highlights – Duarte won the Coppa Sabatini, a stage in the Giro del Trentino, and finished second multiple times in Giro d’Italia stages – but that was the extent of his breakthrough. In 2015, his European cycling adventure came to an end, and he definitively returned to his home country Colombia. In the South American cycling circuit, he achieved significant success, including winning the prestigious Tour of Colombia in 2022.

Medellín-EPM team banned for 30 days after passport violations

From World Champion to Suspension

From World Champion to Suspension