Just like many other teams, Lidl-Trek was forced to make late adjustments to their Tour de France 2024 lineup, however the American formation still presents very formidable opponents, especially towards the bunch sprints.
"Despite having to make some changes to our initial line-up due to illness and injury, I am incredibly confident in the strength of our Tour de France team," sports director Steven de Jongh radiates with optimism in press release.
Persistent illness unfornately removed Tao Geoghegan Hart, the team's intended GC leader, from Tour de France selection. The Brit was replaced with some extra support in the flat stages for sprinter Mads Pedersen. "We have added extra support for Mads to go for stage wins but also put together a team that has a wealth of experience and a depth of talent in their own right."
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The former world champion Mads Pedersen will once again clash with some of the world's best sprinters. To stand his ground against the likes of Jasper Philipsen, he'll count on experience of Tim Declercq, Ryan Gibbons and Jasper Stuyven to deliver him in best position possible in the final kilometers.
Giulio Ciccone missed whole spring due to knee problems, but at recent Critérium du Dauphiné he returned as strong as ever. With two podium finishes of mountain stages, the 29-year-old confirmed that he's more than ready for Tour de France. Will be it for GC? Probably not. But let's not write the 2023 King of Mountains off the fight for another Polka dot jersey and a couple stages along the way.
De Jongh also has a lot of trust in the Italian despite a rough start to the year: "Giulio has been right on track after coming back from his health issues at the start of the year and he was racing impressively at Critérium du Dauphiné especially on those three final climbing stages."
The lineup is rouded off with Julien Bernard, second at recently concluded French championships, who will be at hand for Ciccone in the mountains. Same can be expected from Carlos Verona. The long-time domestique at Movistar changed colours ahead of this season to gain freedom to pursue his own success - something he could get a chance to do at this Grande Boucle without a designated leader. Last but not least, the revelation of this spring Toms Skujins didn't appear to be in his best shape at Dauphiné, but let's not judge off the Latvian too fast. We're sure he'll find his way into a winning breakaway.
Lidl-Trek for Tour de France 2024:
Julien Bernard
Jasper Stuyven
Giulio Ciccone
Tim Declercq
Ryan Gibbons
Mads Pedersen
Toms Skujins
Carlos Verona
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