Lidl-Trek under review: If you have Nys, Milan and Van der Poel-slayer Pedersen, you brush away physical setbacks
Cycling
With Lidl at their side, a small start was made in 2023, but it wasn’t until 2024 that we saw what Lidl-Trek was truly capable of with a bit more budget and manpower. Across the board, performance improved significantly, with no end in sight. In this article, IDLProCycling.com will evaluate the American WorldTour team's 2024 achievements.
One-day races 2024: Lidl-Trek
Lidl-Trek Lidl-Trek was present, from the first one-day race to the last, and yet the prevailing feeling remains: what if? Mads Pedersen defeated Mathieu van der Poel in Gent-Wevelgem in a head-to-head duel, creating hope for an ultimate showdown in the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix. A crash in Dwars door Vlaanderen put an end to those plans. Pedersen fought hard on the ground he loves so much, but he will have to wait another year for success in a Monument.
However, the American team is no longer solely dependent on Pedersen. Toms Skujins had the year of his life: second in Strade Bianche, eighth in the E3, tenth in the Tour of Flanders, always attacking, and still in top form at the end of the year with sixth place in Montreal and fourth at the World Championships. Jasper Stuyven also showed super form but was caught in the crash at Dwars door Vlaanderen, ending his spring earlier than hoped. That meant he couldn't build on his seventh place in Omloop and second place in the E3.
So, what if? What if everyone had stayed fit? Could Lidl-Trek have formed a formidable block against Alpecin-Deceuninck and Van der Poel? As it stands, their victories in one-day races were limited to that one striking win by Pedersen. And then consider that Thibau Nys fell while in a winning position in Switzerland, Jonathan Milan could have/should have achieved more at the European Championships for sprinters, and the climbing classics were out of reach for the injured Giulio Ciccone... The Italian finished third in Lombardy, which says enough. Plenty of room for growth for the team in this area.
Read more below the photo.
(Grand) tours 2024: Lidl-Trek
In stage racing, few teams were better in 2024 than Lidl-Trek. UAE Team Emirates won a lot, but 34 victories for a team without a true grand tour leader... That is impressive! There were three stage wins and the overall victory for Pedersen in the Tour de la Provence, stage and overall victory for Juan Pédro López in the Tour of the Alps, the mighty Milan with two stage wins in Tirreno and three stages in the Giro, Pedersen in the Dauphiné, Nys in Switzerland and three wins in Poland, plus a very dominant week in the Lidl Deutschland Tour, where home team Lidl-Trek won all stages and the overall classification, again with Pedersen.
The only thing missing was major success in the Tour de France, where last year Ciccone won the mountain jersey. Intended Tour leader Tao Geoghegan Hart saw his entire season ruined by crashes, and Ciccone himself had to skip the Giro due to a saddle sore. Only the Vuelta a España went according to plan, yielding a fifth place overall for Mattias Skjelmose, along with the young rider's jersey.
Since Ciccone, Geoghegan Hart and López — all targeted GC riders — did not manage to stay fit throughout the year, we will never know if they could have contended for a strong top ten in the Giro and Tour. Because that is ultimately what the team aims for.
Final score 2024 Lidl-Trek
Last year, Lidl-Trek scored a 6.8, and after a very successful year, that score has increased by a point. A 7.8, because there is still a lot to be gained in both one-day races and stage races. However, the record of 42 victories and fourth place in the UCI Team Ranking (fifth last year) shows that the team is on the rise.
Transfers 2024/2025: Lidl-Trek
Lidl-Trek was not very active this winter, nor did it really need to be. The team already had the right guys to help them shine. This meant that only two targeted acquisitions were made: Lennard Kämna and Søren Kragh Andersen. Riders for one-day races and stage wins, but also men who can win week-long stage races. Tim Torn Teutenberg and Albert Withen Philipsen step up to the WorldTour as future talents.
Incoming: Lennard Kämna (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe), Søren Kragh Andersen (Alpecin-Deceuninck), Tim Torn Teutenberg (Lidl-Trek Future Racing) and Albert Withen Philipsen (Tscherning Cycling Academy)
Outgoing: Dario Cataldo (retiring), Fabio Felline (currently unknown) and Natnael Tesfatsion (Movistar)
Ones to watch 2025: Lidl-Trek
As we said, the big 'what if' question looms over this team. What if Ciccone stays fit for a full year? What if Geoghegan Hart regains his form from the 2020 and 2023 Giro d'Italia without setbacks? What if López takes another step forward? And what can newcomer Lennard Kämna do in the team? The German is transferring in from Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe, in order to start again with a blank slate, but everyone knows his enormous potential as a stage hunter and general classification contender.
In one-day races, Lidl-Trek — if fully fit — can be a formidable force in balancing out giants like Alpecin-Deceuninck and Visma | Lease a Bike. Pedersen holds his own against Van der Poel and Wout van Aert, and Skujins and Stuyven seemed better than ever in 2024. Add to that Skjelmose and Ciccone in the Ardennes, and Nys, who will be tackling some classics for the first time, and we have a lot to look forward to.
Finally, let’s point out the sprint force and young riders at Lidl-Trek. Milan seems to be the fastest man in the peloton when it comes to pure speed, along with an excellent sprint train. Albert Withen Philipsen and Tim Torn Teutenberg are rising talents in the WorldTour. What can they achieve in this world where 18-year-olds are already winning?
(Preliminary) selection Lidl-Trek 2025
- Andrea Bagioli
- Julien Bernard
- Giulio Ciccone
- Simone Consonni
- Tim Declerq
- Tao Geoghegan Hart
- Amanuel Ghebreigzabhier
- Ryan Gibbons
- Daan Hoole
- Lennard Kämna
- Alex Kirsch
- Patrick Konrad
- Søren Kragh Andersen
- Juan Pedro López
- Jonathan Milan
- Bauke Mollema
- Jacopo Mosca
- Thibau Nys
- Sam Oomen
- Mads Pedersen
- Quinn Simmons
- Mattias Skjelmose
- Toms Skujins
- Jasper Stuyven
- Tim Torn Teutenberg
- Edward Theuns
- Mathias Vacek
- Otto Vergaerde
- Carlos Verona
- Albert Withen Philipsen
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Latest Comments
- I wish we could have seen him try. He'd absolutely get dropped before Pogi overtakes his domestiquesVeganpotter10-12-2024
- Talk is cheap! Next year barring crashes with a healthy team... all well be on track! Some need to talk to make a headline!mootman27-11-2024
- I do not see this event listed on HBO Max Sports Online? Can anyone confirm? Thanks!
MrYuck23-11-2024 - It seemed that he was focusing forward at the time of the crash, after seeing a quick video snippet. But one thing I think he should focus on more intently is breaking a bad habit he has, right now. And that is his constant looking over his shoulders. He does that so much, that I am very sure it is not good for him. Simply watch videos of the greats of CX and you will see very little of that constant looking over their shoulders. That is a behavior that betrays a bit of insecurity on his part. He shouldn't be so concerned, incessantly, about what is over his shoulder. He needn't worry they didn't all disappear. He neds to keep his focus more ahead of himself, and he needs to pay a bit more attention to himself, in a confident manner. It is very frustrating to watch, because it is apparent that he has a lot of potential, and is in much better shape thwan many of his competitors, but the mental game needs to be sharpened more, because that part of strategy plays a huge part in the final results
reemmo022-11-2024 - hahahaha love this shit! I didnt even watched the race, but reading all the gossip articles of how stupid this is!Zatoichi19-11-2024
- Van Aert is really handsome. He can influence me all day! Ditto for Philipsen. Why do you think many of us love cycling?: to see heroic attempts at climbing mountains at high altitudes or to watch speedsters sprint for the finish line or to watch a human being ride at break neck speed down a tricky descent? No, it's all about their lean physiques and muscular legs. (apologies for objectifying these dedicated and amazing athletes).BarwonHeadsUp25-10-2024
- It is unfortunate that the author can't feel the joy that Pogacar brings to the sport and his fans who are legion and I for one feel lucky to have watched such a memorable performance and historic season From the Strada until yesterday with multiple wins in stages in both tours and beyond dominance in the World's. He is proud to wear the Rainbow stripes, shows his leadership to protect his fellows and is as courteous and sportsman-like as the sport allows. He goes early to not have to respond to each attack as all the rest would make him do it. Any racer who could would do the same. Don't "grow tired" of greatness as it is always fleeting.ccrider13-10-2024
- What load of rubbish. Pog is likely a once in a generation cyclist, the like of which hasn't been seen since 'the Cannibal '. How many people were complaining that Merckx was making racing predictable? I remember this year's World RR as one of the most exciting I've watched. Mainly BECAUSE Pog was the favourite and launched what everyone thought (Pog included) was a suicidal attack with 80km to go. For the next 2 hours, I was on the edge of my seat thinking "this is too much, even for Pog". Maybe Zonnefeld prefers the snooze-fest that is a bunch sprint? Like most people I know, I can't watch two hours of the bunch riding very fast... I wait for the final 5km and watch just the sprint. In any event, most races are won from a sprint or lone break. What difference does it make who makes the lone break? Ultimately, the other contenders will have to figure out a way to beat Pog. Even if that means collaboration between teams. It's going to be an exciting few seasons, until the next Pog arrives on the scene. If this is boring, heaven knows what exciting looks like!Michael513-10-2024
- This is not a gravel race. UCI fail, from the surface they are on to team tactics. In what country was the first "gravel race" in what country is the most popular gravel race? Go with the race model that created the discipline.
Barnes127411-10-2024 - And don't forget he has now won 4 of the big 10 races (Grand tours, Monuments and WC/OG) in one year with a chance to make that 5. (5 has only been done once before)Joostmehrtens05-10-2024