"The Dauphiné was probably a bit too stinky": Former Lazkano teammate not surprised about doping case

Mathias Norsgaard has switched teams this off-season, leaving Movistar Team after spending six years and joining Lidl - Trek, where he hopes to develop his career further. Before starting the season, the Dane has made some comments regarding what has been one of the hottest topics in the past weeks.

In a recent interview to Feltet, Norsgaard talked about his former teammate Oier Lazkano, who has been provisionally suspended by the UCI due to abnormalities detected in his biological passport between 2022 and 2024.

“I’m glad that those who cheat are caught,” Norsgaard said. “But I’m honestly surprised that this could slip through. Movistar have doctors on their payroll, and that they didn’t detect anything is very shocking to me. What do we even have the system for?”

Lazkano’s suspension covers the most successful period of his career, including his Spanish national title and a standout 2024 season. After an impressive spring classics campaign, the 26-year-old finished ninth overall at the Criterium du Dauphiné. That meteoric improvement apparently raised some doubts amongst other cyclists.

“I saw him in Andorra in the summer, and nobody had seen him since Roubaix,” Norsgaard explained. “He said everything was fine, and then this comes out. At first I thought it was just more rumours from the peloton, because there’s a lot of that during a season, but unfortunately it turned out to be true.”

Lazkano's performance during Dauphiné was a bit too suspicious, and the outcome is not that surprising for some. "I won't go so far as to say that I'm not surprised, because I always hope for the best in people. He was also super impressive, because we were in the same weight class, and he could just ride fast. But damn, sometimes when it smells like shit, it's shit, unfortunately. It was fine in the classics, but the Dauphiné was probably a bit too stinky."

Norsgaard also described the Spaniard as an unusual personality during their time together. “He was a very mysterious guy. Quite intelligent, interested in politics, always well informed. But also strange. He’d sit in the kitchen drinking red wine with the chef for hours after dinner. He was special. I definitely wouldn’t call him my friend.”