Jonathan Milan set for debut with Lidl-Trek and full cobbled classics campaign - "From Gent-Wevelgem to Paris-Roubaix"
Cycling
After a breakthrough season in 2023, Jonathan Milan is ready to kick off a new year of racing with his new outfit. The Italian signed and became one of Lidl-Trek's leaders, and will be looking to perform in the sprints but also the cobbled classics.
"I’m good and I’m very happy with the path towards my debut. I had a good winter, focused on recovery and discovering the new Team," Milan said in a press release. "Of course I also spent many hours riding my new Trek Madone, but compared to the past I did it with less pressure, less stress in view of the debut. Let’s say I took it a bit easier than in the past, but that doesn’t mean I’m any less ready for it."
It is a planned beginning for the 23-year old, who will be at the start of the Volta a Comunitat Valenciana as one of the headliners this year. Milan was a stage and points classification winner at the Giro d'Italia last season, and is looking to build on that now with the American team. Over the opening month of racing he will be lining up with his new leadout consisting of Simone Consonni and Edward Theuns, and later team up with the likes of Mads Pedersen and Jasper Stuyven in the northern classics.
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"I feel great motivation and confidence. It’s the first race of a new adventure and project, I’m super excited about it. My condition is not at the top, but as I mentioned, it was a very specific choice. My and the team’s ambition is to reach the first peak condition for the Classics," he reveals. "Therefore, we needed a different approach to this season than in the past. Hence the desire for a quieter off season, with a plan to grow in intensity and quality. Volta Valenciana will tell me where I am at, where I need to improve and which aspects I need to focus on in the coming weeks."
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Milan will be at the opening weekend, and with his sprinting abilities, he should be a contender for races such as Kuurne - Bruxelles - Kuurne and Gent-Wevelgem. Following the success of Jasper Philipsen - and other sprinters in the past - Milan is looking to test himself away from his main terrain. As a heavyweight and track specialist, Paris-Roubaix specifically could suit his characteristics.
"After Volta Valenciana, a training block will follow, then comes the first taste of Belgium with the Opening Weekend. In March I will race Tirreno-Adriatico and Milano-Sanremo, before moving North again for a full immersion of Classics," he tells. "From Gent-Wevelgem to Paris-Roubaix. It’s an ambitious and demanding calendar, which I intend to tackle step by step. I want to grow and learn; that’s what the team is also asking of me."
Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
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- Yeah, unreal.
parisbound0008-11-2026 - there needs to be space in life for pointless comments!Ketterechts08-11-2026
- That is a very lazy way of putting it but so far on this website it seems like everyone is happy to look at everything lazily, even things that annoy them intensely. All they want to do is state their feeling and position but ask most to analyse a problem or come up with solutions or improvements and you’re stunned by silence. Nobody even really knows how this all happens. It’s very simple and quick to just say the UCI did it but I bet you they didn’t, I bet you not more than 2 people were involved, more likely just 1. The UCI may be ultimately responsible but it is not their decision, this is about hierarchy, power and delegation. The fact that protest is possible also means it isn’t over and that MORE people could get involved for a thorough review which could throw up anything. It is highly likely it was a sole commissar who decided and has that power in a first round. Therein might lie the problem the UCI has to consider, is it acceptable to give so much authority to one single person when it is quite possible for them to have a natural bias or be too easily susceptible to imposed bias. Who is to say an individual in this position isn’t susceptible to collaboration with outside players with interests in the results, nations, families, teams, betting companies, etc. On the one hand we have sports where these problems have been worked on way more to reduce such problems, on the other hand we have sports with far stricter and more draconian rules not even concerning safety or obstruction that nobody really questions like false starts or stepping out of lane or zones in athletics. If cycling hastowork on itself, it would be good if protagonists (all kinds) would start doing a little more than just moaning over outcomes.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- Yes, so why not make comments less pointless?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
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Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026 - There really was nothing in it. Schreiber was so much faster, and Brand was fighting to stay in the wheel in the sprint. Schreiber did move a bit, but to say she closed the door doesn't make sense because Brand couldn't enter it anyway, abd she wasn't impeded.Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026
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- Thibau Nys does exactly what Iserbyt is calling forRafionain-Glas08-11-2026
- i did not see it. was the relegation justified or an overly hard decision? and don‘t cross riders deviate from straight lines all the time? bumping into each others when they cut corners, etc … why being more strict with the rules on the finish sprint?Ketterechts08-11-2026
- seems like we are advertising the website with pointless comments…Ketterechts08-11-2026
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