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 2021, Padun won Stages 7 and 8 of the Critérium du Dauphiné, after spending each day in the breakaway, while also collecting enough points to win the mountains classification.
[8] 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.
[9] The French newspaper Le Parisien published quotes calling his performance "an absolute disgrace" and that it "reminds us of the dirty 2000s".
[10] Despite his strong performance, he was not nominated for the Tour de France by his team, nor was he taken to the Men's individual road race at the delayed 2020 Summer Olympics by his federation, to the surprise of observers.