Jordi Meeus will join Lidl-Trek from the start of the 2027 season after signing a two-year contract through 2028, adding another proven finisher to the team’s increasingly strong sprint group.
The 27-year-old Belgian will move across from Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe after six seasons with the German squad. Meeus has established himself as a regular contender in bunch finishes, with his biggest victory coming on the Champs-Élysées at the 2023 Tour de France.
His role at Lidl-Trek will be slightly different. While Meeus will continue to receive opportunities in selected sprints and one-day races, he is also expected to become an important part of Jonathan Milan’s lead-out.
“My ambitions are to win a lot of races with the team,” Meeus said. “I will help Jonny in the lead-outs, I will try to bring him as best as possible to the sprints.”
Lidl-Trek confirmed the move in its official announcement.
Meeus adds another option to Lidl-Trek’s sprint group
Meeus gives Lidl-Trek a rider capable of operating on either side of the sprint equation.
He has the speed to finish races himself, but his positioning and ability to survive more demanding races also make him suitable for the final kilometres of Milan’s lead-out.
Lidl-Trek have increasingly built their sprint programme around the Italian, whose role has expanded significantly over recent seasons. Milan has become one of the leading pure sprinters in the WorldTour and was already central to the team’s Tour de France sprint strategy.
Meeus is joining knowing that outright sprint leadership will not always be available.
“I look forward to a slightly different role than I’m used to,” he said. “I’m really looking forward to stepping into the sprint train and growing as a rider.”
That does not mean his own opportunities will disappear. Meeus specifically identified the Classics and selected sprint races as targets where he expects to race for himself.
Champs-Élysées win remains Meeus’ biggest victory
Meeus produced the standout result of his career on the final day of the 2023 Tour de France.
Racing his first Tour, he beat Jasper Philipsen and Dylan Groenewegen in a tight sprint on the Champs-Élysées, denying Philipsen a fifth stage victory of that edition.
ProCyclingUK covered the result in our report from the final stage of the 2023 Tour de France.
Meeus has continued to win since then and added the Ename Samyn Classic to his palmarès in March 2026. That victory also underlined why Lidl-Trek see him as more than a rider for straightforward bunch sprints.
The Belgian is capable of getting through rougher terrain and longer one-day races, giving the team another option across parts of the spring calendar as well as stage races.
Meeus ready for a change after six years at BORA
The move will end a long spell within the BORA organisation.
Meeus joined the team in 2021 and has spent his entire WorldTour career there, through its evolution into Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe.
He said the opportunity to change environment was part of the attraction of Lidl-Trek, although several familiar faces are already waiting for him. Lennard Kämna, Patrick Konrad and Matteo Sobrero have all previously raced alongside Meeus.
“I know quite some riders in the team,” Meeus said. “There will be some familiar faces and also lots of new people I will meet, which is nice.”
There is also a longer connection to the team’s history. Meeus recalled watching riders including Fabian Cancellara, Andy and Fränk Schleck and Stijn Devolder during his childhood, before the current Lidl-Trek identity emerged.
Lidl-Trek continue building for 2027
Meeus becomes another addition to a Lidl-Trek roster that is being strengthened well beyond its existing core.
The team has already confirmed Georg Zimmermann on a three-year contract through 2029 and Igor Arrieta through the same season.
Meeus addresses a different part of the squad. Rather than another GC or climbing option, Lidl-Trek are adding a rider who can contribute directly to Milan’s sprint train while remaining capable of winning when given leadership.
Team CEO Andy Schleck highlighted Meeus’ positioning and composure in chaotic finales as particularly valuable.
“Jordi’s positioning and ability to remain composed in the chaos of a bunch sprint have helped him make a name for himself in the peloton,” Schleck said.
For Meeus, the next two seasons will therefore involve a balance between working for one of the fastest riders in the peloton and maintaining his own ambitions.
At 27, he believes there is still room to improve.
“I’m not the youngest anymore, but I think I still have some improvements to make,” Meeus said. “I think this team is definitely the right environment.”
