Lidl-Trek has undergone a seismic shift in the last month and a half, bringing on Lidl as a new sponsor, and along with it new kits, a new name and even greater ambitions in the WorldTour.
But beneath the surface, the operation isn’t changing much. The same world-class performance management team will oversee a strong and balanced group of men’s and women’s riders, and the team will still build around a culture of camaraderie and development. If anything, the team is doubling down on what has made it successful for years, introducing new development team from 2024 onwards.
The team will be registered at Continental level and will be based in Deinze, Belgium, where the Trek Factory Racing service course is located. And accommodations will be made for the young riders, including an option to stay at an apartment in Girona, Spain, where they can enjoy pristine training roads.
The devo team will be managed by Markel Irizar, who has headed up Lidl-Trek’s talent scouting operation since retiring as a rider in 2019. He will be in charge of recruiting and signing young riders to the squad, as well as overseeing their mentorship and performance. The new role is a major promotion for Irizar, and highlights the incredible confidence Lidl-Trek leadership has in his abilities.
"I’m gonna be the chain between the devo team and the World Tour team," Irizar explains. "If Luca tells me: 'Markel, do we have a super good climber?' I can say: 'We have it.' If he says: 'I need someone who can pull, do you have a strong rider with 80 kilos who can pull for five hours?' I can say: 'We have it.' We need to have the resources that the team will need in the future."
List of riders who'll be joining Lidl-Trek Development Team next year:
Tim Torn Teutenberg (Germany, born in 2002)
Mats Wenzel (Luxembourg, 2002)
Axandre Van Petegem (Belgium, 2002)
Kristian Egholm (Denmark, 2004)
Nils Aebersold (Switzerland, 2003)
Louis Leidert (Germany, 2005)
Liam O’Brien (Ireland, 2005)
Patrick Frydkjær (Denmark, 2005)
Tim Torn Teutenberg (Germany, born in 2002)
Mats Wenzel (Luxembourg, 2002)
Axandre Van Petegem (Belgium, 2002)
Kristian Egholm (Denmark, 2004)
Nils Aebersold (Switzerland, 2003)
Louis Leidert (Germany, 2005)
Liam O’Brien (Ireland, 2005)
Patrick Frydkjær (Denmark, 2005)
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Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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- He should have been allowed to go to Movistar. Right now both arent a good fit for each other and are just wasting each other's time and effortabstractengineer08-11-2026
- Thibau Nys does exactly what Iserbyt is calling for
Rafionain-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
- So?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- The UCI do have their favorites.
Front24208-11-2026 - On a positive note, you maybe notice turning this topic into a discussion has the benefit of eliminating certain participants who do not see how they can turn it back to their sole interest ;-)Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- People see what they want to. I am actually the opposite of your accusation, probably more of a rebel than most of you who don’t get the big picture. The difference is, I don’t go moaning publicly about the consequences of my transgressions, I understand the need for rules and I take my OWN responsibility when deciding to ignore or break them or doing so involuntarily. I will also not hesitate to state my case or argue vehemently when relevant, sometimes it works, sometimes it makes things worse but that’s the price to pay for principles and having character.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- That may be but that was unknown to others and nothing says that’s the whole truth. Again, don’t try to misinterpret, it is a call and technically it is correct. Besides, even if there is a valid reason, that does not disqualify the ruling or punishment as far as the rules have been developed. I don’t think they’re as far as in football where for handball there is a distinction (in some ways and specific cases) between intentional or not. And football can be just as harsh and people live with it, eg the offside rule, also judged to within tiny fractions but often wrong or ignored. It’s the nature of every collective organisation and sometimes I wonder if our rebellion against it isn’t seated in the feelings we carry from the injustices we’ve felt personally, like being flashed driving 1km/h too fast when we are explained limits are just a security measure but we are absolutely certain not to have endangered anyone with our transgression. The problem is, nobody has better solutions and no 2 people have the same interpretation of where a limit should be.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- Because for you deviated implies the other rider MUST have been made to fall and fail to finish ??? I don’t know if you ride a bike but next time someone carves you up or drives dangerously close, just hold back from those feelings of changing something, reporting or filming or even complaining. Everyone will just say, hey you’re still here undamaged, doesn’t seem like anyone did anything.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
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Introducing Lidl-Trek's brand-new development team 👋 Meet the first eight riders to be announced to the program👇 📰 racing.trekbikes.com/stories/lidl-t…
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