The road cycling season may be drawing to a close, but the final week has not been without controversy. The 2025 Tour de Mentougou ended in emphatic fashion for Burgos Burpellet BH, who dominated the general classification with three riders on the final podium, including overall winner Clément Alleno. Yet the Spanish ProTeam’s success was overshadowed by a troubling incident involving its star rider, Mario Aparicio.Aparicio, who finished seventh in the race’s opening stage, was disqualified and banned from the Chinese event following a post on the activity-tracking platform Strava that sparked outrage online — and even led to death threats.
The controversy stemmed from a seemingly innocuous upload: a screenshot of his Stage 1 ride, accompanied by a pig emoji placed alongside the Chinese national flag. The post quickly went viral on Chinese social media, where it was interpreted as a deliberate insult.
“It was an insult to our nation. In other competitions, the Spanish athlete has only posted the flag of the host country, with no emoji — this clearly shows an intent to offend,” reported a Chinese outlet, as quoted by El Mundo.
Official Statement from Race Organisers
In response, the Tour de Mentougou released a formal statement confirming Aparicio’s disqualification:
“The publication on his personal social media constitutes an inappropriate comment that undermines the spirit of sport, damages the image of the event, and has a negative social impact. After reviewing the content — which was subsequently deleted — it was concluded that the rider’s actions breached race regulations and the ethical code of conduct.”
Team Response: “A Misunderstanding Taken Out of Context”
Speaking to El Mundo, Burgos-BH defended their rider, insisting the emoji was never intended as a slight against China. “Mario added the pig emoji as an inside joke aimed at a teammate who had won the stage. There was absolutely no malicious intent, nor was it directed at the Chinese people. It was an unfortunate coincidence that the Chinese flag appeared next to it,” a team spokesperson explained.
“The post was quickly misinterpreted, and a flood of abusive messages followed on Strava and Chinese social media — including multiple death threats. It spiralled very quickly.”
Despite attempts by the team to clarify the context, organisers upheld their decision to expel Aparicio from the race. “We spoke with the organisers to explain the situation and make clear that there was no intention to offend. The rider has since left the country, and as far as we’re concerned, the matter is now closed,” the statement concluded.
Mario Aparicio’s post on Strava