'Enjoy the suffering' - MotoGP star ditches motor to make pro road cycling debut at Tour of Austria

There has been no shortage of riders making the jump to cycling from other sports in recent years, including ski jumper Primož Roglič, biathlete Florian Lipowitz, ski mountaineers Antonia Niedermeier and Anton Palzer, and rowers Cameron Wurg and Jason Osborne.

However, Lidl-Trek have found a new rider in an altogether different sport, even if he is another two-wheeled athlete.

The WorldTour team have announced that 35-year-old former MotoGP racer Aleix Espargaró will be making his pro racing debut at the Tour of Austria next month.

Espargaró makes the switch from two wheels to two wheels, having joined Lidl-Trek in an ambassadorial role at the start of the season. Since then, the Catalan has taken part in team training camps, and he'll now race in Austria as part of Lidl-Trek's development team, Lidl-Trek Future Racing.

"I'm very happy about how this year has gone, completely changing my life and everything I did before," Espargaró said. "It's been amazing to be part of such a big team like Lidl-Trek. I've grown a lot as a cyclist and learned many things in these six months.

"I'm feeling good, and I really can't wait to race and test my legs against some of the best cyclists in the world. I'll have a strong team around me to show me the ropes."

Espargaró will race alongside WorldTour pros Carlos Verona, Lennard Kämna, and Patrick Konrad as part of a mixed Lidl-Trek squad which also contains several riders from the development squad, including Héctor Alvarez, Martin Pedersen, Cameron Rodgers, and Paul Verbnjak.

They'll do battle against six other WorldTour teams in XDS-Astana, UAE Team Emirates-XRG, Alpecin-Deceuninck, EF Education-EasyPost, Ineos Grenadiers, and Jayco-Ala, with riders including Isaac del Toro, Hugh Carthy, Rafał Majka, Lorenzo Fortunato, Esteban Chaves, and reigning champion Diego Ulissi set to take the start.

"It's also going to be cool because the week before racing in Austria, I'll compete as a wildcard in MotoGP in Holland. It will be a nice challenge, but I have no expectations for my cycling debut. I'll try to learn as much as possible, help my teammates, and most importantly, enjoy the suffering!"

Espargaró retired from full-time MotoGP racing at the end of 2024 after 14 seasons in the top level of motorcycle racing for Ducati, Suzuki, and Aprilia. He took three wins and 11 podium spots during his time in MotoGP and is currently a test rider for Honda.

He may not yet have made his road bike debut, but Espargaró has taken part in two gravel races in 2025, including the UCI Gravel World Series event in Badajoz back in March.

He finished seventh in the 123km race, the sixth event in the World Series, finishing 12:19 down on the winner, former road pro Matthews Holmes.

The 2025 Tour of Austria runs from July 9-13, taking in 718km of racing across five stages. The race starts with two hilly stages to Steyr and Salzburg before a challenging mountain stage featuring a summit finish at Gaisberg and 2,700 metres of climbing on stage 3.

The penultimate stage of the race to Kühtai features 3,500 metres of climbing and two HC-rated ascents, while the final day brings another hilly day in Feldkirch.

Ulissi won the 2024 race, with the Italian beating Brandon Rivera by six seconds as Magnus Sheffield rounded out the podium, nine seconds back.