OFFICIAL | Oier Lazkano suspended by UCI - Spaniard shows biological passport abnormalities in his 3 years with Movistar
Cycling
The news that had been feared for months have today been confirmed. Oier Lazkano, rider for Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe, has been officially suspended by the UCI after having shown biological passport abnormalities from 2022 to 2024.
"The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) announces that Spanish rider Oier Lazkano Lopez has been provisionally suspended in accordance with the UCI Anti-Doping Rules, due to unexplained abnormalities in his Athlete Biological Passport (*) in 2022, 2023 and 2024," the UCI issued in a press release. "The UCI will not comment further while the proceedings are ongoing."
The reason why this does not come as a surprise is because the Spaniard has not raced since April, where he completed a disappointing spring with a participation at Paris-Roubaix. There has been no explanation given as to why he was absent from competition for the past six months and the Spanish rider himself deleted his social media accounts, leading to more speculation. Over the past few months, questions asked to Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe staff were met with ambiguous answers and lack of a clear answer.
Furthermore, the situation seemed to not have a possible comeback when it was reported that Lazkano was not present at the team's first reunion towards the 2026 season, which included all riders and staff. The explanation has now been made public, as the Spaniard and the team had most likely already received the news and decided on now having him race.
Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe catching strays?
Lazkano has been suspended - not banned from racing or having his results removed - due to abnormalities in his biological passport from 2022 to 2024. This does not apply to his time with the German team. These are the three years the 25-year old spent with Movistar Team, and in which he's shown some stellar performances.
In 2023 Lazkano won the Spanish national championships and in 2024 he won the Clásica Jaen Paraiso Interior, finished third at Kuurne - Bruxelles - Kuurne, and most notably finished in the Top10 of the Criterium du Dauphiné with a fourth place in the brutal summit finish to Samoëns 1600 alongside some of the best climbers in the world. His performances were nowhere near the same level in the early months of the 2025 season, and it's unclear what will be of Lazkano now in the future.
Lazkano stunned at the 2024 Criterium du Dauphiné. But there is now a stain on that performance. @Sirotti
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UCI statement on Oier Lazkano Lopez shorturl.at/BcuY7
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