Mark Padun
Mark Pavlovych Padun (; born 6 July 1996) is a Ukrainian cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . Career. In the years 2016 and 2017, Mark Padun raced for Team Colpack. In 2017, he won a stage of the Giro Ciclistico d'Italia and after Matija Kvasina, winner of the 2017 Flèche du Sud, tested positive for EPO, Padun's second place was upgraded to first overall. In August 2017, Padun joined Bahrain Merida as a stagiaire, and received a regular contract for the next season. In 2018 and 2019, he raced in the Vuelta a España. In 2019, he  won the Ukrainian National Chamionships in the Individual Time Trial. In October 2020, he raced in the 2020 Giro d'Italia and finished in second place on stage 12. In the 2021 Critérium du Dauphiné Padun won Stages 7 and 8 after spending each day in the breakaway, while also collecting enough points to win the Mountain classification. By dropping his companions in the breakaway and holding off the group of favorites on two consecutive days, these wins sparked sceptic commentary from riders and staff of other teams. The french newspaper Le Parisien published quotes calling his performance '"an absolute disgrace ' and that it 'reminds us of the dirty 2000s'." Despite his strong performance, he wasn't nominated for the 2021 Tour de France by his team, nor was he taken to the Men's individual road race at the 2020 Summer Olympics by his federation, to the surprise of observers. In an interview with L'Équipe, he defended himself against doping suspicions, citing weight problems as reason for his inconsistent performances. For the 2022 season, he signed a contract at EF Education–EasyPost. Team manager Jonathan Vaughters emphasized his trust in Padun, and justified it with '"physiological tests'" and '"instinct"'. In  February, Padun won stage 4 of O Gran Camiño, his first top ten in a time trial against an international field.