Michael Rasmussen targets Red Bull–BORA over Lazkano case: "Only two scenarios are possible"
Wielrennen
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Follow us on GoogleWe finally know why Oier Lazkano hasn’t raced since Paris–Roubaix, although the UCI’s news was anything but cheerful. The 25-year-old Spaniard has shown abnormalities in his biological passport—spread across no fewer than three seasons. Red Bull–BORA–hansgrohe immediately suspended him, but Michael Rasmussen is questioning that decision.
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The 51-year-old Dane knows a thing or two about whereabouts. A doping affair involving Rasmussen exploded during the 2007 Tour de France, a race he seemed on course to win. Riding for Rabobank, he wore the yellow jersey and had taken multiple mountain stages. Yet on 25 July—right before Paris—his team pulled him from the race and fired him.
Not for a positive test, but for lying about his whereabouts during anti-doping checks: he’d said he was training in Mexico, but was actually in Italy. Rasmussen later admitted he had used doping for years—EPO, growth hormone and blood transfusions—over the period 1998–2010, with a full confession in 2013. That saga is often viewed as emblematic of the era’s widespread doping.
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Michael Rasmussen (right)
Rasmussen goes after Red Bull–BORA over the Lazkano transfer
What exactly was wrong in Lazkano’s biological passport hasn’t been made public. It is notable, however, that Movistar—Lazkano’s former team between 2022 and 2024—also had Brazilian rider Vinícius Rangel under contract in that period; he was suspended after whereabouts issues. Movistar has formally denied any involvement regarding Lazkano’s case.
On X, Rasmussen didn’t go after Movistar but rather targeted Red Bull–BORA–hansgrohe. The German team cut ties with Lazkano after the UCI announcement, but Rasmussen believes the team should have conducted better due diligence. "There are, to the best of my conviction, only two possible scenarios", he wrote.
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Oier Lazkano
“Maybe more than just Lazkano”: Rasmussen’s two scenarios
“I am assuming that Red Bull–BORA–hansgrohe, as a matter of course, requested Lazkano’s medical file before signing the contract. So in the first scenario the team doctors were not competent enough to recognise suspicious signals, which would be a problem in itself.”
“The second scenario? Those same doctors were able to spot suspicious signals, but trusted that the ITA/UCI would not act. That would be an even bigger problem, because it opens up an entirely new risk: that multiple riders, with the team’s knowledge, could be racing with abnormal blood values.”
There are quite a few assumptions being made here, but according to Rasmussen it is striking that the UCI referred to a period from 2022 through 2024 when it came to the irregularities in Lazkano’s biological passport. "A process of three years is very long."
Bram van der PloegEditor-in-chief
Bram van der Ploeg (35) is the proud founder of In de Leiderstrui, IDL Pro Cycling's parent site, launched in 2018. Finally, he could create stories about the sport he had followed since childhood. He is the editor-in-chief on paper, but prefers to be with his recorder next to a rider, a team bus, or in the mud at a cyclocross race. Every year, from February to the end of May, Bram follows the entire Italian cycling season, from the Trofeo Laigueglia to the Giro d'Italia, with the grand finale in October in Lombardy. During that time, he lives in Tuscany, where he has since come to call Italy his 'home'.
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