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One of the biggest teams in the peloton
Over the past few years, Lidl-Trek stepped up in the World ranking. Last season, the American side confirmed that it had become one of the biggest teams in the peloton, with an incredible 42 wins throughout the year.
One of the key riders of this amazing season was the Dane Mads Pedersen. The former World champion triumphed 11 times in 2024, including at Gent-Wevelgem, where he showed that he was the only rider capable of beating Mathieu van der Poel in the Flanders Classics. Pedersen also finished fourth at Milano-Sanremo and third at Paris-Roubaix before winning the first stage at the Critérium du Dauphiné.
The Italian sprinter Jonathan Milan managed to win as much as his teammate, and of his 11 wins, 7 were at World Tour level. The native of Tolmezzo proved that he was one of the best sprinters in the world, winning three times during the Giro d’Italia and twice at Tirreno-Adriatico, bringing the points jersey home on both occasions. The Italian also recorded great performances during the spring, with a top 10 at both Dwars door Vlaanderen and Gent-Wevelgem.



Giulio Ciccone (left), Thibau Nys (centre) and Jonathan Milan (right) were among the successful riders for Lidl-Trek in 2024
The sprinters were not the only ones to shine for Lidl-Trek in 2024. European cyclo-cross champion Thibau Nys scored nine victories, including three at the Tour of Poland, while Juan Pedro Lopez took the biggest win of his career with the general classification at the Tour of the Alps. At 24 years old, the former Danish Champion Mattias Skjelmose was also one of the key riders for Lidl-Trek last season, managing to finish in the top 5 of every World Tour stage-race he took part in, including the Tour de Suisse, Paris-Nice and even La Vuelta, where he also won the youth classification.
In 2024, whenever they took to the start of a race, Luca Guercilena’s men had an influence, thanks to riders with offensive temperaments such as Toms Skujiņš, Mathias Vacek and Giulio Ciccone. The Italian, who finished 11th at the Tour de France, concluded his team’s season with a podium at Il Lombardia, putting Lidl-Trek in fourth place in the UCI rankings.
Further reinforcement
Despite adding only four new riders to their 2025 roster, Lidl-Trek’s management team has managed to bring in interesting riders, with a mix between experience and wonderkids.
First, the German climber Lennard Kämna will be riding with the American team. At 28 years old, the native of Wedel in Northern Germany will make his return to competition following a terrible crash during training. It will be interesting to see if this excellent climber has recovered fully after his accident, as he could be one of the main riders in the mountains for Lidl-Trek this season. Kämna’s main motivation during the first part of his career has been to play for stage wins, something that he was adept at, becoming part of the elite circle of stage winners at all three Grand Tours. However, his good time trialling ability also allows him to aim for general classifications, as he did during the 2023 season, finishing fourth at Tirreno-Adriatico and ninth at the Giro.
Alongside Kämna, another multiple stage winner at World Tour races, Søren Kragh Andersen, will add his experience to Lidl-Trek, and will strengthen the Flanders Classics squad around Mads Pedersen. Despite his more complicated year in 2024, Kragh already proved in the past that he was an all-round complete rider, able to shine on hilly profiles as well as on the cobbles. The former double stage-winner at the Tour de France should always be watched closely in a breakaway, as he is capable of exploits such as that which he accomplished in Lyon.


Lennard Kämna (left) and Søren Kragh Andersen (right) will bolster the Lidl-Trek squad for 2025
To accompany these two riders who are in their prime years, Luca Guercilena and his staff chose to trust two young wonderkids, who could quickly explode onto the scene this season. The first of them is the German sprinter Tim Torn Teutenberg, who imposed himself as one of the quickest of his generation on the U23 circuit. The 22-year-old also triumphed at Paris-Roubaix U23, showing great capacities on the cobbles.
In his first year as a full member of the World Tour team, Teutenberg will start his season in Australia, at the Tour Down Under, where he will ride alongside the final recruit of Lidl-Trek for 2025 – Albert Withen Philipsen. At only 18 years old, the Dane will be one of the youngest riders at the World Tour level this season and could impose himself quickly as a name to follow. Indeed, Philipsen became the Junior World Champion at only 16 years of age in 2023, before proving his ability in the hills during the Ain Bugey Valromey Tour, which he won ahead of Paul Seixas. With these two additions, Lidl-Trek are also securing the future of the team, as they could become some of the best riders in the peloton in the years to come.
The quest for a Monument
Four seasons after the triumph of Jasper Stuyven at Milano-Sanremo, Lidl-Trek seems to be one of the most well-armed teams in the quest for the Monuments in 2025, having riders capable of outstanding performances on all kinds of parcours.
The first Monument of the season is always the hardest to predict. Indeed, in the past few years, the scenarios of the finish on the Via Roma have varied, from sprints to attacks on the Poggio or its descent. Due to its unpredictability, the longest race of the season is maybe also the easiest to win for the opponents of the two monsters of one-day races: Tadej Pogačar and Mathieu Van der Poel. In Sanremo, Lidl-Trek should bet on the fastest riders of the team to succeed, with different roles. Indeed, though Jonathan Milan is faster than his teammate Mads Pedersen, the Dane is more likely to conquer the Poggio among the best puncheurs. In addition to this duo, the experience of the former winner of the race Jasper Stuyven could be really important in the final kilometres.
For the Flanders Classics, Mads Pedersen should be the designated leader of the American team. Around the former World Champion, who finished on the podium at Paris-Roubaix last year, a very strong collective could be the strength for Lidl-Trek. Riders such as Stuyven (former winner at Omloop) or Soren Kragh Andersen could accompany their Danish leader deep into the race, whereas Tim Declercq, Edward Theuns or Alex Kirsch should have a very important role earlier in the race. For the flattest of the cobbled classics, Jonathan Milan could also be the card chosen by the team directors, in case of a bunch finish.

Finally, the Ardennes Classics will see a trio of leaders going for the best result possible for Lidl-Trek. First of all, Mattias Skjelmose, the former winner of the Tour de Suisse, will try to improve his performances of 2023, when he finished second at La Flèche Wallonne. Alongside him, Andrea Bagioli will have the objective of bouncing back after a more complicated 2024 season, during which he didn’t influence his favourite races. Finally, the young Thibau Nys will be one of the attractions of the season in the peloton, after a first full year as a pro where he raised his arms nine times. The son of Sven shone in the forests of cyclo-cross this winter, winning both the Belgian and the European title. At 22 years old, the winner of a stage at the Tour de Romandie last season will discover the Ardennes Classics, before taking on his first ever Grand Tour. This trio, added to riders like Toms Skujiņš, Mathias Vacek and Patrick Konrad will form one of the teams to beat on the Belgian roads in April, betting on the collective to triumph over Pogačar.

Outsiders in the mountains
Despite having one of the most stacked Classics team in the peloton, Lidl-Trek could have more difficulty taking a lead role at the top of the highest summits. However, the reinforcement of the American team in this domain over the past few seasons could very well pay off in 2025.
After a strong and consistent season in 2024, Mattias Skjelmose has confirmed that he is one of the best climbers in the world. Indeed, after several top fives at Paris-Nice, Itzulia Basque Country and the Tour de Suisse, the former Danish champion managed to record his best ever performance at a Grand Tour, finishing fifth at La Vuelta. At only 24 years old, Skjelmose has still time to improve and could become one of the very best in the peloton, in order to aim even higher in the future. In 2025, the native of Copenhagen will have the Tour de France as main objective of the second part of his season, a race that he discovered in 2023, closing his first participation with several top tens throughout the three weeks.



Ciccone, Kämna and Geoghegan Hart will be among the leaders for the team in Grand Tours
Beyond the Dane, riders vying for a leadership role at the Grand Tours include Giulio Ciccone and Lennard Kämna. Both have already scored top-15 finishes in a three-week race, but are also very attacking riders, who like to play for stage wins. The Italian, for example, already triumphed three times during his national tour and his breakaways also allowed him to wear the yellow jersey at the Tour de France. If these two offensive riders prefer play the breakaways, that could be very good for the spectators but also for their teammate Tao Geoghegan Hart. The English rider has had a lot of difficulties since he won the Giro in 2020 but he remains a Grand Tour winner, the only one in the 2025 roster of Lidl-Trek. After some encouraging results in 2023 including the first place overall at the Tour of the Alps, a crash during the Giro ended his season. Let’s hope that the native of London, who will start his season at the Volta ao Algarve, will be able to come back to his best level in 2025, to add even more options for his sport directors.
Though Lidl-Trek does not have the same depth in the mountains as in the Classics, these riders, along with the likes of Carlos Verona, Sam Oomen and Bauke Mollema are a solid force, that could be lethal in Grand Tour breakaways. The anticipated returns of Lennard Kämna and Tao Geoghegan Hart to their best level, added to the progression of Mattias Skjelmose could even make Lidl-Trek a serious threat for their opponents, in order to play for the podium of a Grand Tour.
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