Lidl-Trek have moved to strengthen their climbing options with the signing of Ricarda Bauernfeind, who joins the team on a contract running through 2027. The 25-year-old German arrives after three seasons in the Women’s WorldTour and brings both proven pedigree and untapped potential.
Bauernfeind first made headlines at the 2023 Tour de France Femmes, where she launched a daring 40km solo attack to win stage 5. That victory revealed her willingness to take risks and the climbing strength to make them stick. She has since shown promise as a general classification rider, finishing inside the top five at the Vuelta a España Femenina and top 10 overall at the Tour de France.
Injury has disrupted her last two campaigns, with a knee problem stalling momentum, but Lidl-Trek see this as a temporary setback rather than a barrier to progress. The team’s environment, strengthened by Lidl’s investment, offers a platform for both immediate results and long-term development.
Bauernfeind is confident that she has more to give, especially when it comes to stage racing ambitions. “Lidl-Trek believes in my path, even after a challenging season with injury and fewer results. I’m incredibly motivated to learn from the best in the world and to give everything I have for this team,” she said.
Photo Credit: ASO-Thomas MaheuxThe move also marks a new chapter after her formative years at Canyon SRAM, where she rose from the Generation programme to the WorldTour. Bauernfeind credits that spell with teaching her the fundamentals of road racing, but now turns her attention to Lidl-Trek’s clear structure and established leaders.
Luca Guercilena, the team’s general manager, described her as a rider with “excellent racing instincts” and predicted that she would benefit from an environment designed to nurture GC potential.
For Lidl-Trek, Bauernfeind’s arrival bolsters a squad already rich in leaders and contenders. With Elisa Longo Borghini, Gaia Realini and Lizzie Deignan in the mix, the German offers both versatility and the capacity to deliver results herself. She is expected to play a dual role, adding strength in the mountains while retaining the freedom to target stages that suit her attacking style.
After two years of setbacks, Bauernfeind now has the chance to reset in a stable and ambitious team. If she can recover the form that carried her to victory in Clermont-Ferrand, Lidl-Trek may well have secured one of the most effective climbing domestiques and opportunistic attackers in the peloton.
