Two riders from the Portuguese Continental Team Duja Tavira were removed from the Volta ao Algarve Friday because of elevated hematocrit values, which could indicate the use of illegal doping products. Samuel Calderia, of Portugal, and Daniel Petrow, of Bulgaria, were not allowed to start the third stage and will not be allowed to race for the next 15 days. Both riders were from the Duja Tavira team, which is regarded as Portugal's richest team.
Before stage 3, a total of 48 riders were blood tested, all from six different teams: Chocolade Jacques, Astana, Unibet.com, Duja Tavira, Fercase and Riberalves-Boavista.
