Movistar strongly denies involvement in Lazkano doping case: "We only learned of the situation on Thursday"

Lazkano had been riding for Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe since this year, but was unable to make any impact. Six months after his last race (Paris-Roubaix), he was suspended by the UCI for violating doping rules. His team fired him immediately, and the Germans emphasized that the violations occurred before his time with the team.

That would mean that he was caught during his time at Movistar. It was there that he achieved excellent results and showed exceptional climbing skills. Movistar was forced to respond. “First of all, it was only yesterday afternoon, October 30, 2025, that we learned of the situation,” they said in a press statement.

"During the three seasons of contractual relationship with Mr. Lazkano (of the five referred to in the UCI investigation), all tests, from various national and international organizations as well as those from the team itself, yielded negative results. Therefore, it was impossible to know—or even suspect—that there would be an irregularity, as demonstrated by the UCI."

Remarkably, the UCI's message to Movistar differs from the message it published itself. The international cycling union itself stated in a statement that the violations only occurred between 2022 and 2024; however, in their message to the Spanish team, it was reported that some samples had already been taken on January 7, 2020. At that time, the Spaniard was still competing for Caja - Rural Seguros RGA.

That team was involved in a minor scandal in 2023. The Guardia Civil had mentioned the team in a report linking it to Dr. Marcos Maynar. He was the doctor of, among others, the suspended Miguel Angel Lopez. After a complaint from Caja Rural, the case was forgotten. At that time, Lazkano was already a rider for Movistar.

The Eusebio Unzué team claims innocence and is responding immediately to Lazkano's doping case. “Abraca Sports reiterates with absolute determination its unwavering commitment to clean and transparent sport. To this end, we will redouble all the efforts, controls, and measures we have taken so far with absolute determination.”