The former MotoGP driver, now Tester Honda, will run like Wildcard in MotoGP in Assen, then the adventure with Lidl-Trek: “Ready to learn and help”
Four years ago, Aleix Espargaro meditated his farewell to MotoGP to move on to professional cycling. A temptation dictated by the crisis of results in the 2021 world championship, as the Spanish, current Honda tester, had revealed to the Relevo portal. The idea is destined to come true on July 9th. That’s right: Espargaro will urge professional cycling with the Lidl-Trek shirt, a team to which he tied himself at the end of 2024, once he finished his full-time MotoGP pilot career. His first race will be the Tour of Austria, where Isaac Del Toro could also cross, second classified on the last Giro d’Italia.
Expargaro growth
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Aleix, who during his pilot career in the world championship trained by bike to keep fit, reaches this big step after being inserted in training Development Lidl-Trek. He gradually became familiar with cycling competitions, starting from the “Gravel” category, where he qualified to the World Cup. Now here is the road debut. An imagined challenge who knows how many times during training with champions of the caliber of Alejandro Valverde. Espargaro says: “I am very happy with how it went this year, it completely changed my life and everything I did before. It is fantastic to be part of such a great team as the Lidl-Trek. I grew up as very as a cyclist and I learned a lot in these six months”.
Engines and cycling
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Aleix does not hide his emotion: “I feel good, I can’t wait to compete and test my legs against some of the best cyclists in the world. I will have a strong team that will show me the tricks of the trade”. However, the engines remain an integral part of his world, given the role of Honda test driver for MotoGP: “In the week before the debut I will compete as Wildcard in Holland. It will be a great challenge, but I have no expectations for my cycling debut. I will try to learn as much as possible, help my companions and, above all, enjoy the suffering”. From 9 to 13 July Espargaro will team up together with Hector Alvarez, Lennard Kämna, Patrick Konrad, Martin Pedersen, Cameron Rogers, Paul Verbnjak and Carlos Verona, his friend and winner of a stage at the Giro d’Italia 2025.
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