Lidl-Trek Team Talk: Consistency was rewarded but is there more to come?

American men's team Lidl-Trek, formerly Trek-Segafredo at the outset of 2023, are an outfit that specialise in consistency and balance. Their squad is as rounded as they come, designed to challenge on as many fronts as possible. Against the increasingly powerful super teams who dominate the sport, it is probably a wise approach that helps to spread out wins, and it has paid dividends over recent seasons through a consistent year-on-year win return.

Continuing this trend in 2023 was always going to be difficult, but post-season reflection highlights the sheer scale of the challenge. Jumbo-Visma exerted a vice-like stranglehold over the Grand Tours and stage races, while UAE Team Emirates and Alpecin-Deceuninck reduced the Monuments to a two-team battle.

• Read more: Lidl-Trek Team Talk: The future is bright, but was 2023 disappointing?

That left little room for anyone else to thrive, stifling even established top-tier teams like Ineos Grenadiers. Admirably, Lidl-Trek emerged from the season with their record of consistency intact, but more importantly still, with the best win tally in their history. They’ve shot up to fifth in the UCI rankings as a result.

Much of this success was driven by tried-and-tested riders like Mads Pedersen and Giulio Ciccone, and then added to by rising stars Mattias Skjelmose and Thibau Nys. The question is, can they use this talent – along with the fresh investment from their new sponsorship – to build on 2023 and cement their position in the top third of the UCI rankings?

GCN’s 2023 review

On paper, Lidl-Trek had the best season in their history in 2023, amassing 27 victories to edge out their 26 in 2011, the previous biggest haul. That’s impressive, although eight of those did come at national championships. Whether you believe they should count towards the win tally or not, victories at nationals come with a significant amount of UCI points, which, in these times of three-year relegation cycles, are a welcome boost to anyone’s tally.

Beyond the national championships, stages races proved to be the happiest of hunting grounds for the team. Quinn Simmons got the team off to a flying start with a stage victory at the Vuelta a San Juan in January, and things never slowed down from there. Only April, September and October failed to deliver any wins at stage races, at times of the year when one-day races take precedence.

Chief protagonist, as is often the case, was Mads Pedersen who has developed a healthy knack for triumphing in Grand Tours. His Grand Tour win tally for 2023 ended on two, starting out with victory on stage 6 of the Giro d'Italia, before he edged out Jasper Philipsen in a sprint at the Tour de France.

• Read more: Tour de France pro bike: Mads Pedersen’s custom-painted Trek Madone

© Velo Collection (TDW) / Getty Images

Mads Pedersen won stage 8 of the Tour de France

Those were Lidl-Trek’s only Grand Tour wins in 2023, but they were supplemented by Pedersen and his teammates at stage races throughout the season, most notably at the Tour de Suisse where Mattias Skjelmose triumphed in the general classification. That proved to be a high point for the 23-year-old in a season that returned seven wins, while Giulio Ciccone added three extra victories, including on stage 8 of the Critérium du Dauphiné, plus the best climber's jersey at the Tour de France. Both riders have fully taken on the mantle from Bauke Mollema, whose results waned in 2023.

In the Classics, the team didn’t fare quite as well, at least as far as wins are concerned. It wasn’t a season devoid of Classics success, but the only three came at smaller one-day races, including the Grand Prix of Aargau Canton, BEMER Cyclassics and Maryland Cycling Classic. Victories at larger races proved to be more elusive, but a closer look at results sheets repeatedly throws up Pedersen’s name in the top placings.

The Dane had arguably his best Classics season to date, finishing in the top five throughout the major races, including third at the Tour of Flanders and fourth at Paris-Roubaix. Considering the might of Mathieu van der Poel and Tadej Pogačar during this period, with the talent of Wout van Aert added into the mix, that seems like a fair return. Pedersen also had to take on more of the burden as Jasper Stuyven struggled to deliver the top-10 finishes we've become accustomed to.

© Velo Collection (TDW) / Getty Images

Giulio Ciccone won the mountains classification at the Tour de France

Dig a little deeper beyond Lidl-Trek’s wins and Pedersen’s Classics consistency was replicated by the whole team throughout the season. Telling a tale of consistency and strength in depth, this delivered 217 top-10 finishes, putting them in the ballpark of Ineos Grenadiers, Jumbo-Visma and Soudal Quick-Step. Only UAE Team Emirates completely outshone the rest, surpassing 300, which goes some way to explaining how they topped the UCI rankings, beyond the obvious Pogačar factor. Lidl-Trek also ranked sixth for top-three finishes.

Plenty of encouragement can be drawn from this, not least because it means that they’re constantly in the mix at races. It’s also rewarded with lots of UCI points and Lidl-Trek already find themselves far beyond the worries of a relegation battle. It would always have taken a disastrous few years for them to ever have found themselves in such a situation, but now they have the space to breathe and focus on maintaining and building on their consistency over the next few years, which is arguably their biggest victory of all.

GCN’s rating: 8/10

With a record win tally, consistent top-three finishes, and a sharp rise up the UCI rankings, the only thing missing from Lidl-Trek’s season was a big win in the Classics.

Ins & Outs

Sometimes a team’s revolving door can rotate without a clear strategy, but that can’t be said for Lidl-Trek, who have added to their already strong stage-racing potential with a plethora of multi-day talent.

Headlining the influx of new riders is Tao Geoghegan Hart who arrives from Ineos Grenadiers with strong Grand Tour pedigree, having won the Giro d’Italia in 2020. For all of their stage wins, Lidl-Trek have struggled to challenge for the overall podium at cycling’s 21-day races and they’ll hope that the Brit can change this trend. That will be dependent on Geoghegan Hart reigniting his 2020 form, having endured a torrid time at Grand Tours since taking his Giro victory. There were sparks of potential, verging on fireworks, in 2023 as the Brit podiumed at a succession of stage races before winning the Tour of the Alps, but his season was ultimately curtailed after a bad crash at the Giro.

© Velo Collection (TDW) / Getty Images

Can Tao Geoghegan Hart rediscover his form after fracturing his hip at the Giro d'Italia?

Alongside Geoghegan Hart, Lidl-Trek have also bolstered their stage racing core through the arrivals of Patrick Konrad from Bora-Hansgrohe, Carlos Verona from Movistar and Sam Oomen from Jumbo-Visma. All three are valuable domestiques and strong climbers within their own right, and will strengthen the team’s roster. The team can also now call upon arguably the best rouleur in the business in the form of Tim Declercq, who will at least ensure that Lidl-Trek’s jersey will get good coverage on the front of the peloton.

In terms of wins, the arrival of Jonathan Milan could be their biggest coup. Still only 23, the Italian has bags of potential and has already proven that he can mix it in Grand Tour sprints, winning a stage at the Giro d’Italia in 2023. He’ll be joined by another young Italian, Andrea Bagioli, who shone at the Autumn Italian Classics, finishing second at Il Lombardia after winning Gran Piemonte.

It’s a strong transfer window for Lidl-Trek, made more impressive as the team have retained their best riders for 2024. Among the most notable departees, Kenny Elissonde and Tony Gallopin’s experience will be missed, while Filippo Baroncini takes a wealth of talent with him to UAE Team Emirates.

Where Lidl-Trek’s wins will come in 2024

As always, Lidl-Trek should be able to challenge on multiple fronts in 2024. Mads Pedersen will hope to at least be an ever-present in the top five at the major Classics, although the Dane arguably needs to add wins to that consistency. Even if a Classics victory remains elusive, he’s almost guaranteed a stage win at a Grand Tour, and usually supplements that at other stage races throughout the season.

© Velo Collection (TDW) / Getty Images

Mattias Skjelmose Jensen will hope to add to his nine career victories in 2024

Aiding the Dane in this stage racing quest will be Giulio Ciccone and Mattias Skjelmose, who shouldered their GC ambitions in 2023. Skjelmose was the more successful of the two, winning the Tour de Suisse, and is their best bet for more overall victories, while Ciccone’s wins have been rarer.

The duo will be able to share stage race responsibilities with Tao Geoghegan Hart, who adds another option to the team’s burgeoning stage race roster. 2023 showed that, with unhindered preparation, the Brit can mix it with the best, but question marks still remain over his full and true potential.

Thibau Nys and the newly arrived Jonathan Milan provide sprinting talent, as well as more Classics ability in the case of the former. If Andrea Bagioli can replicate his late-season form for his new team, the Italian could also start racking up wins.

Able to rely on so many different avenues, the American outfit are well prepared to match their 2023 exploits.

Lidl-Trek’s next breakout rider

Mattias Skjelmose, Jonathan Milan, Andrea Bagioli, Quinn Simmons… Lidl-Trek’s squad is littered with talented young riders who have proven their ability at World Tour races.

Picking a breakout rider is difficult, but we’re going to highlight Thibau Nys. It’s a slightly easy pick, especially considering his flying start to the cyclo-cross season, but the Belgian is the joint youngest rider in the team’s squad and is yet to fully prove himself in WorldTour races on the road.

© Velo Collection (TDW) / Getty Images

Thibau Nys has been one of the stars of the cyclo-cross season so far

There have been glimpses of his undoubted potential, not least at the Baloise Belgium Tour where he finished second behind Mathieu van der Poel on a Classics-esque stage 4. He followed it up the day after with a third-place finish in the sprint behind Fabio Jakobsen and Jasper Philipsen. Over those two days, Nys rubbed shoulders with the best riders in the world, while highlighting his versatility at the same time.

Considering his year-on-year improvements in cyclocross, we’d expect the young Belgian to show further improvements in 2024 and to build on his two pro road victories, both taken in 2023.

Do you think Lidl-Trek's 2023 season was a success? Let us know in the comments.