More details on Oier Lazkano's suspension emerge - Home police operation, computer data and doping connections

The suspension of Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe's Oier Lazkano has been one of the main stories this year in the world of cycling and little was known about the situation of the Spanish rider. However more and more begins to come out and reveals a long police investigation that culminated in a house visit back in April where Lazkano had to hand over some of his personal belongings and data.

The Spaniard was suspended for biological passport abnormalities from 2022 to 2024, the three years he spent with Movistar. However it is now better understood why the UCI took action only in October, as a concerted effort to catch Lazkano's potential wrongdoings was organized back in April, after Paris-Roubaix which was his last race this season. According to El País, which has conducted an extensive investigation of the case, in this month Lazkano had a home visit in Andorra by the specialized authorities that informed him the investigation had been opened and that he had to hand over his phone, laptop, along with personal data so as to analyze his contacts.

According to the Spanish news outlet, Lazkano will have had four separate occasions where his biological passport showed unusual values, although it is not known when these were seen. What was also unveiled was that Lazkano's coach at Movistar was Leonardo Piepoli - a formerly disgraced rider due to his connections with doping. The Italian joined the team in... 2022, and Lazkano was one of the riders who was right way collaborating with him.

Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe reportedly made the decision for Lazkano to not compete with the team colours back in May after an altitude camp in which he was preparing for a potential Tour de France participation, and effectively hasn't raced since, deleted his social media, and led to a lot of speculation. Although no substances were ever found in his blood or urine, he has failed to provide an explanation as to why he's had abnormal values in his biological passport. At the time he is only provisionally suspended, but his contract with the German team has been ended and there seems to be no positive outcome in sight.