The Lidl-Trek males’s squad showed their standing as one of the most absolute best groups in 2024 however supervisor Luca Guercilena is pushing his riders to do even higher in 2025 as he starts to construct the roster for 2026 and past, with the objective to compete for total luck within the Grand Excursions.
Lidl-Trek completed fourth within the 2024 UCI workforce ratings, at the back of UAE Crew Emirates, Visma-Hire a Motorcycle and Soudal-QuickStep. Guercilena expects his riders to do even higher in 2025.
Lidl-Trek gained 42 races in 2024 due to the sprinting energy of Jonathan Milan, Classics talents of Mads Pedersen, the degree race tenacity of Mattias Skjelmose and the younger, flexible skill of Thibau Nys.
Lidl joined the workforce mid-2023 and their vital funding allowed Guercilena to put money into the boys’s workforce, the world-class ladies’s workforce and a a success males’s building workforce. The Lidl-Trek riders and body of workers now overall over 180, with Guercilena hiring former rider and up to date UCI Head of Innovation Michael Rogers to assist him arrange the groups.
“We were a good team before Lidl came on board but our budget was limited. We need to strengthen the team and improve and we did that in 2023 and 2024. Now, we have to step up even more. We’ve got to show how good we really are,” stated Guercilena, who has fought a protracted fight in opposition to a life-threatening lymphoma however a contemporary check-up has given the boldness to begin the 2025 season with ambition and exuberance.
Remaining week Pedersen published he’s going to goal the Classics after which the Giro d’Italia and Vuelta a España, with Jonathan Milan given the essential sprinters function on the Excursion de France, more than likely with Simone Consonni as his key lead-out guy.
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Skjelmose is predicted to fly the GC flag for Lidl-Trek on the Excursion after his 5th position on the Vuelta. Giulio Ciccone is predicted to focus on levels and the GC on the Giro d’Italia. Tao Geoghegan Hart will glance to reboot his occupation prior to surroundings any primary targets however is prone to experience a Grand Excursion.
Nys is hastily rising right into a Ardennes Classics function along Andrea Bagioli and Skjelmose, whilst Toms Skujiņš, Quinn Simons, Jasper Styuven and Ryan Gibbons shape a powerful cobbled Classics core.
“We’re a real team, our success doesn’t depend on just one big rider. We showed that by winning 42 races with lots of different riders,” Guercilena stated.
“We want to be competitive in the Classics in 2025. Virtually all the Classics team was involved in the high-speed Dwars door Vlaanderen crash, so we weren’t at our best at the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix. We hope to be healthier and do better this year and win.
“We have were given to be within the motion within the Excursion and take a look at to steadiness successful levels and the issues jerseys with a just right GC. We all know we do not have a workforce chief like Tadej Pogačar however we are satisfied that our riders can do neatly.
“We’ve also got Sklemose, who will have even more support this year at the Tour after his impressive Vuelta and were 100% convinced that Tao will be back to his best and so have the form he had when he won the 2020 Giro d’Italia. We’ve also got stage race riders like Ciccone, Juan Pedro Lopez and new signing Lennard Kämna who is recovering from his terrible training accident. We’re a team of many talents.”
Signing a Grand Excursion chief to change into a real ‘tremendous workforce’
If Lidl-Trek is to be regarded as a real ‘tremendous workforce’, Guercilena is aware of they have got to struggle for the rostrum in Grand Excursions and particularly on the Excursion de France within the years yet to come. Grocery store chain Lidl expects vital visibility throughout Europe for its funding and luck on the Excursion is one of the simplest ways to fulfill them.
In 2025, Pedersen will lead the sturdy Classics squad and Milan will goal the sprints, the primary yellow jersey In Lille and the issues jersey on the Excursion de France. However Guercilena is thoroughly tracking the Grand Excursion rider marketplace. He is aware of that Remco Evenepoel’s contract ends after the 2026 season, and possibly is aware of the contract standing of Juan Ayuso and a dozen different imaginable objectives.
“There are two ways to have a Grand Tour leader – you can develop them in-house, which takes time and needs a scouting programme and a development team, or you buy them,” Guercilena stated, admitting Lidl-Trek are having a look at each choices.
“It’s not easy to compete with the big teams and riders like Tadej Pogačar and Remco Evenepoel but that’s what we want to do.
“We have a tendency to appear extra lengthy to medium time period and expand our riders in-house. If any individual involves the marketplace, we will have a look at them sparsely.”
Lidl-Trek signed just four new riders for 2025 – Kämna, Søren Kragh Andersen, promising sprinter Tim Torn Teutenberg and 18-year-old super-talent Jasper Philipsen. They have t10 riders out of contract later this year.
“We expect our steadiness is an indication of our power, so we do not alternate our roster an excessive amount of every yr. After all, there is the age issue, rider ambitions and the will for effects,” Guercilena explained.
“Professional biking by no means sleeps, no person waits for the Excursion de France anymore, the rider marketplace and talks move on all yr, even prior to the overall 365 days of a rider’s contract. We are already lively and learning the riders and offers that may be to be had for 2026 and have compatibility in our undertaking.”
