The never-ending Portuguese soap opera writes another chapter. This time, a former Tour of Austria winner was placed under the magnifying glass of investigators who have found irregularities in the biological passport Delio Fernández. The 39-year-old Spaniard hung up his bike earlier this season after O Gran Camino. Fernández, who spent the recent seasons back in Portugal racing for continental team APHotels & Resorts / Tavira / SC Farense has been given a provisional suspension until the investigation is complete.
The Spaniard has had a fairly extensive career, racing internationally since 2008. After two Grand Tour participations in 2009 (Giro d’Italia) and 2010 (Vuelta a Espana), Fernández moved on to Portugal where he spent three seasons racing for the infamous W52 between 2013-2015. During this period, he finished 3rd and 4th overall at the Volta a Portugal, including three stages.
In 2016, Fernández returned to professional ranks with French team DELKO, where he rode until team disbanded in 2021. It was then that Fernández achieved his greatest success. In 2017, he won the Tour of Austria ahead of Miguel Ángel López, Ben O’Connor and Giulio Ciccone.
That achievement was added to the Spaniard’s palmares retrospectively after winner Stefan Denifl was removed from the ranking in 2019 for his involvement in Operation Aderlass.