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MotoGP, Espargarò not only testing for Honda, but also cycling for Lidl-Trek

Aleix signed a deal to be a rider on the development team. His passion for cycling goes back a long way, and he might participate in several races.

MotoGP: Espargarò not only testing for Honda, but also cycling for Lidl-Trek

When Aprilia Racing hadn't yet made much technical progress before the arrival of Massimo Rivola in January 2019, and Aleix Espargaró was fighting a losing battle because the RS-GP didn't have enough power and wasn't reliable enough, the Spanish rider openly considered switching to professional cycling, and the Spanish racing team, MoviStar, was certainly interested in this enthusiastic cyclist. When Aleix achieved an excellent 29th place as a member of the Orbea Factory Team in the multi-day stage race "Cape Epic" in South Africa (624 km, 16,650 meters of altitude), held from March 17th to 24th, 2019, Espargaró's cycling plans became even more concrete.

The veteran was, however, persuaded in 2020 by Aprilia Racing CEO Massimo Rivola to sign a new two-year contract for 2021 and 2022, and he actually gave the Noale factory its first victory in the premier class at Silverstone in 2022, even battling against Pecco Bagnaia for the title for a time. Aleix, therefore, extended his contract for 2023 and 2024, and also signed a test rider contract with the Honda Racing Corporation for 2025. He'll be sharing six wild card appearances with Takaaki Nakagami for HRC, so he'll have lots of free weekends.

That's why Aleix Espargaró is now delaying his cycling plans. He's going to become a development team rider next season for the successful LIDl-Trek team. This means that Aleix will hardly be able to take part in the Grand Tours, such as the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and probably the Vuelta de España either. But LIDL Trek could nominate him for smaller multi-day races and individual one-day races.

Aleix Espargaró, who runs his own cycling team, competed in the Cape Eipi 2019 along with his 46-year-old fellow countrymam, Ibon Zugasti, who finished the “Cape Epic” as a solo rider in 33 hours 37 minutes and 31.1 seconds in 2016. The Espargaró/Zugasti duo competed for the Orbea Factory team and ended in a very respectable 29th place in the overall ranking after 29:54.31 hours. "I'd like to thank the bike manufacturer, Orbea, for its great support,” the former Aprilia factory rider said happily after his indescribable exertions.

By the way, numerous world-class riders, such as Schurter, Frischknecht junior, Lakata, Platt, Kulhavy, Gaze, Huber, and Fumic took part in the “Cape Epic”, in which 42 licensed teams and a total of 650 two-man teams were allowed to take part.

Translated by Leila Myftija

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