There is a very important season coming up for Lidl-Trek. Not that the previous ones weren’t, but the impression is that 2026 will be a key year for what aims to be a climb towards the top of world cycling. To complete the mission, however, we need to overcome the competition from the other leading teams on the scene, namely Visma|Lease a Bike and, above all, the UAE Emirates CycleMarket. However, Lidl-Trek itself also did the same thing, thinking in particular about the arrival of Juan Ayuso.
Many of the expectations of the team that has become German-licensed in recent weeks are based precisely on Ayuso. In fact, the Spaniard has the 2026 Tour de France on his program, where he will face his former teammate Tadej Pogačar, Remco Evenepoel and, most likely, Jonas Vingegaard. Despite the competition, Lidl-Trek’s underlying goal is to, at the very least, try to win the Tour.
“We can definitely believe it – the words of the sporting director Joshua Larrazabalcollected by Mark – In the past we never got close because we didn’t have the rider who could do it. With Ayuso and the continued growth of Mattias Skjelmose we are convinced that we will be there to play it. Probably, we will not be able to overtake Pogačar in a short period of time, but we also know that our captains are young and will continue to improve.”
Pogačar, therefore, seems to be the most feared obstacle: “Clearly, today it seems unrealistic to think of beating him. If the margin he has is so large, it is very difficult to do so. When it was a little tighter, Visma however managed it (Tour de France 2022 and 2023, with Jonas Vingegaard – ed.). However, we need to see how things go from year to year. The most natural thing to think is that Pogačar will always be this strong, and maybe he will be, but the situation can also change. We may continue to grow, while others may not be at their best. I repeat: as long as the gap is what we have seen recently, it will be very complicated to overcome it, but we will certainly continue to work to do so.”
Larrazabal underlines that “since Lidl’s sponsorship arrived, there has been open talk about becoming the number 1 team in the world. It is something we want to achieve, even if it is obvious that it cannot happen overnight. Winning the Tour de France is a key part of this project. We have accumulated experience on a structural level, we come from a period of great stability thanks to Trek, which has always allowed us to work with a medium-long term perspective. We now have a very solid structure and we have the potential to face all the challenges that await us.”
There are therefore many expectations regarding Ayuso: “He has always been at the top of our list of desired reinforcements. And I know that he was on the list of many other teams – the words of the Spanish coach – We must not forget that Juan was the only rider, together with Pogačar, who in recent times stood on the podium of a Grand Tour as a neo-professional (third in the 2022 Vuelta – ndr). He is consistent at a high level, he has already beaten the best specialists in the time trial, he is explosive on the climbs and has shown that he knows how to win. It has everything. But winning the Tour will not only depend on Ayuso’s qualities, but also on what the whole team can do. Each role must be clear and all eight runners competing must be at the highest level to carry out their assigned tasks. It’s not enough to put eight cyclists together and wait for them to win.”
Still in terms of Grand Tours, given the competition there will be at the Tour, wouldn’t it have been better to look elsewhere? “We evaluate everything – replies Larrazabal – We need to find the right balance between what others do and what we want to do, as part of our growth. Evaluations are made, also based on the paths, and we think about whether to focus on the short term or whether to look a little further ahead. We wanted to look further.”
The Lidl-Trek 2026 is a team full of strong runners, on all terrains. Is it difficult to manage their ambitions and programs? “We know how to do it, we’ve already had to do it in the past. We’re the team the brothers raced for Andy e Fränk Schleck, Fabian Cancellara, John Degenkolbwe shared the streets of Vincenzo Nibali e Richie Porte. There is nothing new. This management develops through communication, sincerity and clearly defining which limits cannot be exceeded.”
