"It has been hard, demanding, brutal": MotoGP legend Aleix Espargaró says goodbye to cycling

Aleix Espargaró has brought his brief but high-profile professional cycling adventure to an end. The MotoGP rider, who fulfilled a long-held ambition by racing as a professional cyclist with Lidl-Trek in 2025, will not continue in the peloton next season and will instead focus exclusively on his role as a test rider for HRC Honda in 2026.

The Spaniard already admitted last month that, despite trying, he was unable to combine his MotoGP activity with cycling. "Alberto Puig told me that he understood my passion for bikes very well, but that this is Honda and I had to be more focused. He was absolutely right, and I was probably wrong. I didn't know how to calibrate my role as a tester. I thought I could be in both worlds, but I wasn't."

The Spaniard reflected publicly on the experience in a message shared on Instagram, where he described the year as one of the most meaningful of his sporting life.

“This year I fulfilled one of the biggest dreams of my life: making my debut as a professional cyclist. It didn’t turn out exactly how I had planned; my commitments with Honda and injuries made it more difficult than expected. But life is not easy.”

Espargaró also described the physical and mental demands of adapting to professional cycling at the age of 35. “It has been hard, demanding, brutal. So many hours of training, almost permanent fatigue, sacrifices, injuries and so much to learn from a new world at 35 years old.”

Despite those challenges, the Spanish rider is proud of his acheivement. “I pushed myself every day to be up to the level, and one thing I can assure you: I AM VERY PROUD OF MYSELF!! If a dream doesn’t scare you… it’s not a dream! Manythanks to Lidl-Trek, Aritz Arberas [his coach] and above all, to my brother Carlos Verona, to whom I will always be in debt. 2026 I want more! Let’s go for it friends!”

The post drew widespread reactions from within the cycling world. One of the most notable responses came from his teammate Carlos Verona. “An example of passion, perseverance, loyalty, nobility, generosity and commitment, and I’m lucky to call you a friend and now also a teammate!! 2025 has been beautiful and I’m really looking forward to making the most of 2026 together and even more!!”

This brings Aleix Espargaró's competitive career as a professional cyclist to a close. It has been a very brief but intense experience before taking on a new challenge in 2026, once again focused on motorcycling.

Espargaró has competed in seven races this season, combining road and gravel races. On the road, he took part in the Circuito de Getxo – Memorial Hermanos Otxoa, where he finished in 57th place, and in the Tour of Austria, where he competed in three stages, finishing 70th in the second, 85th in the first, and abandoning the third. He also participated in two gravel races, finishing 54th in the Coal Gravel Race and 7th in the UCI Gravel World Series ME – 114 Gravel Race.