{"id":346721,"date":"2025-12-15T12:45:11","date_gmt":"2025-12-15T12:45:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/346721\/"},"modified":"2025-12-15T12:45:11","modified_gmt":"2025-12-15T12:45:11","slug":"danish-pro-questions-anti-doping-safeguards-after-lazkano-suspension","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/346721\/","title":{"rendered":"Danish pro questions anti-doping safeguards after Lazkano suspension"},"content":{"rendered":"

Few people know Oier Lazkano as well as Mathias Norsgaard \u2014 though even he admits there were surprises, according to Feltet.dk<\/a>. The Dane spent three seasons alongside the Spaniard at Movistar, sharing training camps, races and long hours within the team\u2019s Classics group. That\u2019s why Lazkano\u2019s recent suspension has left Norsgaard a little bit puzzled.<\/p>\n

Lazkano, 26, has been provisionally suspended by the UCI<\/a> following abnormalities in his biological passport between 2022 and 2024. Which, not for nothin\u2019, 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 \u2013 BORA \u2013 hansgrohe.<\/p>\n

Why was nothing flagged?<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re always glad when riders who cheat are caught,\u201d Norsgaard said. \u201cBut I\u2019m 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?\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u2019s leap in form is difficult to ignore.<\/p>\n

Ralph Denk about Oier Lazkano:<\/p>\n

\u201cIt wasn\u2019t during the time in our team, it was in Movistar\u2019s time. We acted accordingly. I can\u2019t say much because the case isn\u2019t closed.\u201d pic.twitter.com\/dT9tDPT2Pa<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Luk\u00e1\u0161 Ronald Luk\u00e1cs (@lucasaganronald) December 10, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n

For Norsgaard, Lazkano\u2019s leap in form was hard to ignore. Strong in the Classics and Dauphin\u00e9, yet when things seem fishy, well \u2014 as Shakespeare put it, there\u2019s something rotten in the state of Denmark.<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes,\u201d Norsgaard said. \u201cWhen something smells off, it\u2019s because it is.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rumours became much more<\/p>\n

Lazkano finished ninth overall at the Crit\u00e9rium du Dauphin\u00e9. 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 .<\/p>\n

At first, Norsgaard assumed the rumours were just another case of At first, Norsgaard assumed it was just peloton rumours. \u201cYou hear a lot of nonsense during a season,\u201d he said. \u201cBut this one turned out to be real \u2014 unfortunately.\u201d<\/p>\n

Looking back, Norsgaard recalls Lazkano as an unusual figure within the team. Intelligent, politically engaged, but also eccentric. \u201cHe was a strange guy,\u201d Norsgaard said. \u201cNot someone I\u2019d call a friend.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 2026, Norsgaard will ride for Lidl \u2013 Trek. (Along with Derek Gee<\/a>, maybe?)<\/p>\n