Last post after Paris-Roubaix, silent on Strava and Red Bull keeping quiet: Where is Oier Lazkano?

Lazkano owed his transfer to Red Bull's major cycling project to his big breakthrough in recent years. The Spaniard had been riding professionally for Caja Rural since 2020, where he won a stage in the Tour of Portugal (2020) and made his debut in a Grand Tour in the Vuelta a España (2021). In 2022, he made the switch to the WorldTour with Movistar, where his development progressed rapidly.

He first rode the Giro d'Italia in 2022 for the Spanish armada and won a stage in the Tour of Wallonia in the summer of that year. He also finished second in the Spanish time trial championship. In 2023, he was in the early breakaway in all kinds of races and finished second in Dwars door Vlaanderen, won the overall classification in the Boucles de la Mayenne with a stage win, and became the Spanish champion.

In his Spanish champion's jersey, Lazkano continued to be in various breakaways and kept winning. He was successful in the Vuelta a Burgos in 2023 and in early 2024 in the Clásica Jaén. He finished third in Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne and, after all that breakaway action, he even showed himself to be a potential climber and classification rider with a ninth place in the Critérium du Dauphiné.

In his debut in the Tour de France, and with that a start in all three Grand Tours, he was in the breakaway six times, but did not win a stage. He was also unsuccessful in the Vuelta. However, Lazkano had already secured his transfer to Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe. “I think it's a big step forward in my career. I am very grateful for the trust the team has placed in me,” he said when the news was announced.

At Red Bull, Lazkano was part of a new, strong block for the classics from day one. It started well with a training camp in Mallorca, and after the Tour of the Algarve, he spoke of ‘good sensations’. After another altitude training camp, Lazkano seemed to be in good spirits for the spring, but in seven classics, he had three DNFs and four finishes well outside the top 100.

“It wasn't the classic spring we would have liked and what we had planned, but I've taken my notes,” Lazkano wrote after a 117th-place finish in Paris-Roubaix in April. “Thank you all for your support these past few months. Now it's time to rest and then back to altitude training to prepare for the summer season.”

And then silence... There were no more posts on social media from the usually active Lazkano. His last upload on Strava dates from May 31 in Andorra. It must have been the altitude training he was referring to after Roubaix. But most importantly, Lazkano did not ride a single race for Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe since the French Monument.

This prompted questions, but they remained unanswered. No message was received from the team, which had kept its lips sealed throughout its management and staff. No message from the UCI about anything, and no other articles. During this year's Vuelta, team manager Patxi Vila only told Marca: “I can't comment on anything because of the team's guidelines.”