Few people know Oier Lazkano as well as Mathias Norsgaard — though even he admits there were surprises, according to Feltet.dk. The Dane spent three seasons alongside the Spaniard at Movistar, sharing training camps, races and long hours within the team’s Classics group. That’s why Lazkano’s recent suspension has left Norsgaard a little bit puzzled.
Lazkano, 26, has been provisionally suspended by the UCI following abnormalities in his biological passport between 2022 and 2024. Which, not for nothin’, is the same period in which he delivered the best results of his career, including a Spanish national title and a breakthrough run of performances in 2024 . In 2025, he rode for Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe.
Why was nothing flagged?
“You’re always glad when riders who cheat are caught,” Norsgaard said. “But I’m honestly surprised it could get this far. Teams like Movistar have doctors on the payroll. If nobody picked up on anything, then you have to ask: what do we even have the system for?”
That same concern has been echoed elsewhere in the Danish cycling conversation, with questions raised about how internal monitoring failed to flag unusual blood values earlier. For Norsgaard, the timing of Lazkano’s leap in form is difficult to ignore.
Ralph Denk about Oier Lazkano:
“It wasn’t during the time in our team, it was in Movistar’s time. We acted accordingly. I can’t say much because the case isn’t closed.” pic.twitter.com/dT9tDPT2Pa
— Lukáš Ronald Lukács (@lucasaganronald) December 10, 2025
For Norsgaard, Lazkano’s leap in form was hard to ignore. Strong in the Classics and Dauphiné, yet when things seem fishy, well — as Shakespeare put it, there’s something rotten in the state of Denmark.
“Sometimes,” Norsgaard said. “When something smells off, it’s because it is.”
Rumours became much more
Lazkano finished ninth overall at the Critérium du Dauphiné. And he was also climbing better than ever only weeks after his spring campaign. According to reports, anti-doping authorities later visited his home in Andorra, where Norsgaard says he briefly crossed paths with his former teammate during the summer .
At first, Norsgaard assumed the rumours were just another case of At first, Norsgaard assumed it was just peloton rumours. “You hear a lot of nonsense during a season,” he said. “But this one turned out to be real — unfortunately.”
Looking back, Norsgaard recalls Lazkano as an unusual figure within the team. Intelligent, politically engaged, but also eccentric. “He was a strange guy,” Norsgaard said. “Not someone I’d call a friend.”
In 2026, Norsgaard will ride for Lidl – Trek. (Along with Derek Gee, maybe?)