2024 Season Review | Lidl-Trek: More to come from Mads Pedersen, as Mattias Skjelmose and Jonathan Milan drive the team up the UCI rankings
Cycling
As riders and teams around the world rest, recover and begin to prepare for the 2025 season, we’ve began to review how each World Tour squad performed throughout the 2024 season. We’ve had a mixed bag so far, with teams like Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team having incredible season, whilst the INEOS Grenadiers suffered their worst season to date.
Today, we’re looking at Lidl-Trek, who have established themselves as one of the most consistent teams in the World Tour. Initially founded as the Leopard Trek team in 2011, the squad has evolved over the years, and is today one of strongest forces in the peloton. With backing from Lidl, the team has gone from strength to strength in recent years, and judging by their 2024 season, things will only get better for them.
Under the guidance of General Manager Luca Guercilena, the team has become a balanced outfit, capable of delivering results in both one-day classics and stage races. With marquee riders like Mads Pedersen, and emerging talents such as Mattias Skjelmose, Lidl-Trek is a force in professional cycling that is here to stay.
2024 was another great year for Lidl-Trek, as they finished 4th in the UCI rankings, one place higher than they managed in 2023. The team picked up an impressive 17989 points across the year, including a whopping 42 wins. Yep, Lidl-Trek were on fire at points this year, with Mads Pedersen continuing to lead the team, and new signing Jonathan Milan proving time and time again he is one of the fastest sprinters on the planet.
For a team with so many wins, they sometimes go under the radar. We wonder why that is, so in this article we’re going to take a look at all the things that went well for Lidl – Trek in 2024, as well as any areas they need to improve on if they are to break in to the top three of the UCI rankings.
Spring season
Lidl-Trek kicked off the season in style, with Ryan Gibbons claiming the South African national championship time trial title and the team’s first victory of 2024, setting the tone for another successful year. Historically, the team has relied heavily on Mads Pedersen for spring success, and while Pedersen delivered yet again, 2024 showed that the team is no longer ‘Team Pedersen,’ and they have other talented riders too.
Pedersen started strong with a win on stage three of the Etoile de Bessèges - Tour du Gard Stage 3. His ambition to win Paris-Roubaix, a monument that has so far eluded him, has been made crystal clear by the rider himself, and his victory over Mathieu van der Poel at Gent-Wevelgem suggested his readiness to take on the Dutch star on the cobbles. Unfortunately, a crash at Dwars door Vlaanderen derailed his cobbled classics campaign, but despite this setback, Pedersen powered through to claim third place at Paris-Roubaix, earning his team crucial UCI points. Whilst this third place was still a great result considering his injury, Pedersen has made no effort to hide the fact that Paris-Roubaix and the illusive monument crown is his main target in 2025.
The team’s reliance on Pedersen is no longer a concern, thanks to the emergence of other riders. Toms Skujins had a great spring, most notably finishing second at Strade Bianche, where he was the first ‘human’ rider behind the 80km solo destruction of Tadej Pogacar. Meanwhile, Mattias Skjelmose demonstrated his GC potential by taking third place in the Itzulia Basque Country GC, but we’ll have a lot more on Skjelmose later.
Unfortunately, crashes were a recurring theme for Lidl-Trek’s spring campaign, with both Pedersen and Jasper Stuyven suffering untimely falls at Dwars door Vlaanderen. Nevertheless, the team’s growing depth offers optimism for future classics campaigns, and set the team off to very strong start in 2024. If Pedersen enjoys a bit of luck in 2025, he could emerge as a genuine rival to van der Poel on the cobbles. Let’s hope he gets that luck, as that is a clash all cycling fans would love to see.
Grand Tour season
Just how good of a signing did Jonathan Milan prove to be? The Italian sprinter was dominant at the Giro d’Italia, claiming four stage wins (Stages 4, 11, and 13) on his way to winning the points classification for the second consecutive year. Surely it can’t be long now before Milan makes his Tour de France debut. The prospect of seeing him take on the likes of Jasper Philipsen and Biniam Girmay is very exciting, and who wouldn’t love to watch a three way fight for the green jersey?
The team picked up 34 wins in stage races across the season, and if it wasn't for UAE Team Emirates, Lidl-Trek would be the talk of the peloton. Mads Pedersen continued his success by winning both stages and the overall GC at the Tour de la Provence, while Juan Pedro Lopez captured the Tour of the Alps GC win, adding another 150 UCI points to the 2024 points haul.
The Tour de France, however, was a disappointment. Pedersen’s crash prevented him from contesting the green jersey like he planned to, while Giulio Ciccone, despite spending much of the race in the top 10 on GC, ultimately finished 11th. Nevertheless, his performance brought in 190 UCI points, the team’s third-highest haul of the season.
The highlight of Lidl-Trek’s Grand Tour campaign came at the Vuelta a España, where Mattias Skjelmose announced himself as a serious GC contender for the future. Skjelmose finished fifth overall, claimed the young rider classification, and secured 200 points for the team. At just 23 years old, Skjelmose is emerging as a star capable of challenging for Grand Tour podiums in the future, and he’s definitely one to watch in 2025.
Transfers
Lidl-Trek has made some promising moves in the transfer market to strengthen their squad for 2025. One of the most notable signings is Lennard Kämna, who joins to bolster the team’s climbing power. A proven stage racer and Grand Tour contender, Kämna’s climbing strength should provide essential support for Skjelmose and Ciccone in the mountains at next year’s grand tours.
To further solidify their classics squad, Lidl – Trek has acquired Søren Kragh Andersen, a versatile rider with a solid track record in one-day races. Andersen’s inclusion adds depth to the team’s cobbled classics campaign and offers another strong option alongside Pedersen and Skujins.
While the team gains new talent, it also bids farewell to Dario Cataldo, who retires after an 18-year career in the pro peloton. Cataldo’s experience and leadership will be missed, but the team’s growing roster of younger riders promises to fill the void. Meanwhile, Natnael Tesfatsion is departing for Movistar, where he hopes to secure his first World Tour victory. Tesfatsion’s potential is undeniable, but Lidl-Trek’s signings indicate their focus on both immediate success and long-term development, and Tesfatsion clearly felt he had to leave the team to maximise his development.
Final verdict: 8/10
Lidl-Trek are rapidly becoming one of the most feared teams in the peloton, and 2024 was their strongest year to date. The fact that you feel that there is more to come from this team, shows you just how much potential that they have. The prospect of a fully healthy Pedersen going up against Matheiu van der Poel and Wout van Aert next spring is thrilling, and Pedersen was really unfortunate this year with his crashes at important moments.
Even more exciting for Lidl-Trek is the emergence of Skjelmose, who may become the team’s GC leader over the next few seasons. He’s got real potential, and with him, Pedersen, and Jonathan Milan, the team’s points haul was no fluke in 2024, and they could be set for an even better year in 2025.
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