Former INEOS Grenadiers rider joins Lidl-Trek as Sport Director for 2026

Lidl-Trek has announced the addition of Bernhard Eisel as its newest Sport Director, marking a significant reinforcement to the team’s leadership structure.

The Austrian, who enjoyed a 18-year professional racing career before retiring in 2019 and then spending four years in the team car with Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe, will add his knowledge and experience to the American WorldTour squad.

Eisel expressed enthusiasm about joining Lidl-Trek in an official statement, emphasizing the team’s culture and recent success. “I was attracted to Lidl–Trek because of what the team has achieved in the past few years and the progress it continues to make,” he said.

“It’s attracting a lot of young talent and has excellent sprint groups. From my time as a commentator, watching Milan sprinting or watching Mads Pedersen ‘doing a Mads Pedersen’ are some of the best things you can watch in modern cycling. These are the small details that really convinced me.”

Eisel also highlighted his long-standing relationship with Luca Guercilena, Lidl-Trek’s General Manager. “I have a lot of friends already in the Team — people I’ve worked with before, and riders I know from my time as both a teammate and a DS. It was a no-brainer. The biggest reason was to join Lidl-Trek was to work again with Luca [Guercilena, General Manager]. He was my first professional coach when I joined Mapei in 2001, so we go back a long, long time.” he said.

Despite his extensive experience in the cycling world, this new challenge motivates him a lot. “I’m a bit nervous, I have to admit, but also curious for this new chapter in my life. At the same time, I’m very motivated to continue this progress and be part of the Lidl-Trek family,” he said.

“Firstly, I want to understand how the team works and get to know the people I don’t already know, to build a strong group together — which is, I think, the key reason Lidl-Trek has been so successful. I hope I can contribute to that and help us keep moving up the ladder.”

Eisel, arguably one of the best Austrian riders of all time, got 16 professional wins throughout his career. The most iconic one is perhaps his Gent-Wevelgem victory in 2010, in which he outsprinted Sep Vanmarcke, Philippe Gilbert and George Hincapie.

His palmarès also includes two stages at the Tour de Suisse (2005 and 2009), the 2008 Paris-Bourges, 5 stages of the Volta ao Algarve em Bicicleta and one stage at the Driedaagse De Panne-Koksijde (currently named The Great Sprint Classic), amongst others.