Suspected blood doping case: Suspended professional cyclist Oier Lazkano no longer part of Team Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe
TOUR
· 31.10.2025
The Spanish professional cyclist Oier Lazkano is no longer allowed to race for the time being. The cycling world federation UCI made this public in a press release on 30 October 2025. It states that the 25-year-old has been provisionally suspended in accordance with the federation's anti-doping rules. The reason for this was anomalies in his biological start pass from 2022, 2023 and 2024, during which time Lazkano was under contract with the Spanish team Movistar. He switched to Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe for the 2025 season. Most recently, the professional cyclist had not raced for a long time. The Spaniard contested his last race in the jersey of the German racing team at Paris-Roubaix on 13 April 2025.
Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe: Cooperation ended
When asked by TOUR, the Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe team press spokesman said: "We confirm that Oier Lazkano will no longer be a member of our team. This follows the UCI's decision to provisionally suspend him. The UCI's investigation concerns the 2022-2024 seasons - a period before he joined our team." No further information could be provided as the racing team is not part of the proceedings, the statement continued. Whether Lazkano will be sentenced to a doping ban will only be decided in the course of the further proceedings. The UCI also provided no further information on the details of the proceedings, the nature of the offences, dates and a possible permanent ban. In the biological start pass (ABP), data is collected from the individual athletes in long series of tests, which can provide indications of manipulations that do not lead to positive results in classic doping tests.
Update: According to Team Movistar, it's about abnormal blood values
One day after the UCI's publication on the Lazkano case, his former team Movistar has spoken out and made further details public. The team's operator, Abarca Sports, wrote in a press release that they had only learned of possible irregularities in the former team member's Athlete Biological Passport, the proceedings and a suspected doping case on 30 October 2025. In the press release, the team published the wording with which it had been informed by the UCI: "The UCI hereby informs you that the UCI alleges that Mr Oier Lazkano Lopez has committed an anti-doping rule violation." It continues: "This allegation is based on the unanimous opinion of a panel of three independent scientific experts on 23 October 2025, according to which the blood profile obtained from samples taken between 7 January 2020 and 30 December 2024 shows that it is very likely that a prohibited substance or a prohibited method was used." Conversely, it is unlikely that the values in the Athlete Biological Passport could have a cause other than prohibited manipulation.
Particularly successful during the period of suspicion
In its communication to the operating company, the UCI emphasises that the team was contacted because he was under contract there during the period in which the relevant violations were identified in his ABP, namely in 2022, 2023 and 2024. Lazkano was under contract with Movistar from 2022 to 2024. These were the Spanish professional cyclist's most successful years in terms of results. He celebrated six of his seven professional victories in these years. Before that, he was with the smaller Spanish racing team Caja Rural-RGA Seguros from 2020 to 2021. He won once in their jersey.
