Spanish cyclist banned for life from China after Strava emoji controversy at Tour of Mentougou

The 25-year-old from Aranda de Duero shared a post showing his stage map alongside the Chinese flag and the controversial emoji, leading to his immediate removal from the competition that features 105 riders from 20 teams across a dozen countries.

"The post on his personal social media accounts constitutes an inappropriate comment that undermines the spirit of sport, damages the image of the event, and has a negative social impact," race organisers stated when announcing the disqualification.

Chinese media outlet The Paper reported that the incident quickly went viral, with one Chinese newspaper noting: "Some Chinese internet users living in Spain pointed out that the cyclist was trying to make an offensive association because the word 'dirty' is often used in Spanish as a derogatory term."

The controversy overshadowed an otherwise successful opening stage for Aparicio's Burgos Burpellet BH team, who dominated the podium with three riders taking the top positions while Aparicio finished seventh.

His team has since defended the cyclist, claiming the post was misinterpreted.

"Mario posted the pig emoji as a joke toward his teammate who had won the stage, something without malice and unrelated to the Chinese people. Just an unfortunate coincidence," the team explained.

The situation escalated rapidly on Chinese social media, with Burgos Burpellet reporting: "A large number of comments began to be posted on his Strava profile and on Chinese social media with insults towards the cyclist and even many death threats, a very crazy situation."

Public reaction in China was severe, with one widely shared comment on Weibo demanding 'a public apology for his insults towards China,' according to the Spanish newspaper El Mundo.

Following the disqualification, Aparicio has left China, while his team continued in the race. Burgos Burpellet went on to claim overall victory in the Tour de Mentougou, with Clément Alleno securing the title alongside teammates García Pierna and Antonio Angulo completing a triple victory for the Spanish outfit.

According to reports from the Basque newspaper, El Correo, on Friday, Aparicio has been banned from entering China for life, with Chinese authorities taking the stronger step of prohibiting his entry to the country, even for transit purposes.

This reported ban creates complications for the Burgos Burpellet BH rider, with the Spanish team having raced in China multiple times in 2025 at races such as the Tour of Hainan and the Tour of Magnificent Qinghai, the latter of which Aparicio raced. Based on El Correo's reports, Aparicio wouldn't be able to participate in such events in 2026 and beyond.