Jorge Martin chips 40 minutes off record in brutal 111.59km cycling challenge

Reigning MotoGP world champion Jorge Martin has completed the La Purito cycling challenge in Andorra as part of his summer break training.

The factory Aprilia rider is a keen cyclist and regularly carries out gruelling rides around Andorra as part of his MotoGP preparations.

Having done very little racing this season due to various injury woes, Jorge Martin told the media after the Czech Grand Prix that he would not be having any time off during the summer break to focus on his physical preparation.

Last weekend, Martin took part in the La Purito cycling challenge in Andorra, where he covered a distance of 111.59 kilometres at a pace of 20.7km/h.

He completed the challenge in five hours, 24 minutes and 13 seconds, which he said on his social media channels was 40 minutes faster than he achieved previously.

Martin made his return to MotoGP competition at the Czech Grand Prix prior to the summer break, having been absent since April’s Qatar Grand Prix.

The Spaniard suffered multiple rib fractures as well as a punctured lunch in the Lusail incident and admitted later there was a point during his hospital stay that he wasn’t sure he would be able to race again.

Martin hit the headlines during his injury layoff after he tried to activate an exit clause in his contract to leave Aprilia at the end of the 2025 season.

The clause cited performance reasons, which Aprilia categorically rejected as null due to Martin having - at that point - only contested one grand prix weekend on the RS-GP.

The matter dragged on for weeks following the bombshell report after the French Grand Prix, with it escalating during the Dutch Grand Prix.

Martin’s manager Albert Valera told MotoGP’s world feed that his rider was “free of contract” for 2026 - which Aprilia denied, before threatening to drag this matter through the courts.

This was a process the Martin camp reportedly tried to have done quickly, though Aprilia blocked this as dragging this matter out would only benefit the Italian manufacturer.

Ahead of the Czech Grand Prix, the saga was put to bed when Martin confirmed he would be staying with Aprilia for 2026.

He says the injury woes from Qatar conditioned his decision-making and he had no regrets for his actions as he believed he was doing what was best for his career.

At Brno, he qualified 12th and went on to finish a solid seventh in the grand prix, with Aprilia confident Martin can fight for podiums in the coming 10 rounds to end 2025.