Igor Arrieta will leave UAE Team Emirates-XRG at the end of the season and join Lidl-Trek from 2027, signing a three-year contract through to the end of 2029.
The 23-year-old Spaniard arrives after the strongest season of his professional career, including third overall at the AlUla Tour, eighth at Itzulia Basque Country and his first WorldTour victory on stage 5 of the Giro d’Italia. He also finished his second Giro in 19th overall and fifth in the young rider classification.
Lidl-Trek see Arrieta as a rider who can continue developing while already contributing to their increasingly deep Grand Tour group. The move takes him away from UAE Team Emirates-XRG after three seasons and into a team which has made a series of climbing-focused additions for 2027.
“I have a super nice feeling about signing with Lidl-Trek,” Arrieta said. “It’s a really big team that is continuing to grow with the Lidl ownership.”
Photo Credit: GettyArrieta has taken another step in 2026
Arrieta joined UAE Team Emirates-XRG from Equipo Kern Pharma for the 2024 season on an initial three-year contract.
His first two years were largely about establishing himself at WorldTour level. A fourth place on a Giro d’Italia stage in 2025 offered an early indication of what he could do in a Grand Tour, while victory at the Prueba Villafranca – Ordiziako Klasika later that season gave him his first professional win.
The results became more substantial this year.
Arrieta started 2026 with third overall at the AlUla Tour, finishing 21 seconds behind UAE teammate Jan Christen. He then reached the top 10 at Itzulia Basque Country, where he finished eighth overall.
There was also a near miss on stage 3 in Basauri. Arrieta and Axel Laurance went clear on the final climb before contesting the victory between them, with Laurance beating the Spaniard in the uphill sprint. ProCyclingUK’s Itzulia Basque Country stage 3 report covered one of the performances that showed Arrieta was increasingly capable of creating his own opportunities rather than simply working within UAE’s climbing group.
The Giro then produced the result which changed the shape of his season.
Potenza provided Arrieta’s WorldTour breakthrough
Stage 5 of the Giro d’Italia was chaotic even by the standards of a wet Grand Tour stage.
Arrieta made the decisive breakaway and attacked before the Montagna Grande di Viggiano, eventually going clear with Afonso Eulálio. Both riders crashed during the run towards Potenza, and Arrieta then took a wrong turn inside the final kilometres.
He still won.
Eulálio looked to have the stage when Arrieta made his mistake, but the Portuguese rider began to fade on the final rise. Arrieta recovered, caught him and passed him in the closing metres to claim his first WorldTour victory.
The full sequence is covered in ProCyclingUK’s Giro d’Italia stage 5 report.
Lidl-Trek CEO Andy Schleck pointed directly to that afternoon when explaining what attracted the team to Arrieta.
“Stage 5 of this year’s Giro d’Italia was one of the most dramatic finales to the race and Igor’s victory in Potenza impressed us and highlighted not only his ability but also his future star power,” Schleck said.
“We believe Igor has a bright career ahead of him and we are looking forward to working with him and seeing him develop.”
Arrieta briefly moved to second overall because of the time gained by the breakaway. The traditional GC contenders eventually moved back ahead as the Giro reached the major mountains, but he remained competitive enough to finish 19th overall and fifth among the young riders.
For a 23-year-old who had entered the race primarily as part of UAE’s wider climbing group, that was a useful three-week test as well as a stage victory.
Photo Credit: GettyLidl-Trek are assembling a deeper Grand Tour group
Arrieta joins a Lidl-Trek roster which is becoming noticeably stronger in the mountains.
Felix Gall and Gregor Mühlberger have already been confirmed as 2027 arrivals from Decathlon CMA CGM. Gall joins after finishing second at the Giro and third at the Vuelta a España this season, while Mühlberger provides an experienced mountain domestique who has worked closely with him.
Their moves are covered in ProCyclingUK’s report on Felix Gall and Gregor Mühlberger joining Lidl-Trek.
Georg Zimmermann is another addition through 2029. The German offers a different profile, combining hilly Classics ambitions with the ability to work across difficult stage races. ProCyclingUK covered his move in Georg Zimmermann joins Lidl-Trek on three-year deal.
Jordan Jegat is also arriving after consecutive top-10 finishes at the Tour de France.
Arrieta is younger than all of them and does not arrive with a fixed place in the hierarchy. Lidl-Trek already have established leaders and several riders capable of taking responsibility in stage races, but his 2026 season gives the team more than a development prospect.
He has already won a Giro stage and finished inside the top 10 of a WorldTour stage race.
Arrieta wants to develop beyond climbing
The three-year contract gives Lidl-Trek time to establish exactly what sort of rider Arrieta can become.
Climbing is already the strongest part of his profile, but Arrieta has identified several areas where he wants to improve rather than defining himself solely as a mountain specialist.
“I really hope to grow as a rider, in all aspects of my racing, on the climbs, the flat and in time trials, and I’m looking forward to establishing my place in the team,” he said.
That development will take place around riders Arrieta already sees as reference points.
“I’m really excited to ride with big talents like Skjelmose, Pedersen, Ciccone and all the guys on the team,” he said.
His time trial is the most obvious area where improvement could change the type of races he can target. Arrieta has shown that he can stay close to strong stage-race riders in the mountains, but becoming more competitive against the clock would give him a better chance of protecting those gains across a week-long general classification.
Lidl-Trek do not need to decide immediately whether that becomes his long-term direction. His current skill set also makes him useful as a mountain support rider and an attacking option on difficult stages.
Arrieta leaves UAE after three seasons of development
Moving to Lidl-Trek also ends the next stage of a career which has progressed steadily through the Spanish system.
Arrieta came through Lizarte before spending two professional seasons with Equipo Kern Pharma. UAE Team Emirates-XRG signed him for 2024, giving him his first WorldTour opportunity at 21.
He will leave three years later with a Grand Tour stage victory and considerably more evidence of where he can compete.
The depth at UAE has helped his development but also creates obvious competition. The team has a large collection of young stage-race talent alongside its established Grand Tour leaders, so opportunities to race for himself are never automatic.
Lidl-Trek are hardly short of leaders either, but Arrieta believes the environment gives him room to continue progressing.
“From the outside it looks like a real family team and it looks like a great one to be a part of,” he said.
His signing continues a busy 2027 transfer window for the team and has been added to ProCyclingUK’s men’s cycling transfers hub.
The Potenza victory showed what Arrieta can already do when a race opens up around him. Lidl-Trek now have three seasons to find out whether those performances can become a more regular feature of the biggest stage races.
