For the first time since the women’s programme was launched in 2019, Lidl-Trek approach a season without two of its defining figures. By the start of 2026, both Lizzie Deignan and Ellen van Dijk will have stepped away from professional racing, closing a chapter that shaped the team’s identity for seven seasons. Their influence went far beyond results. Deignan provided tactical clarity and leadership in the biggest one-day races, while Van Dijk’s engine underpinned everything from time trials to flat stage control.
The challenge now is not simply replacing results, but redefining what Lidl-Trek look like in a peloton that has evolved rapidly over the last two seasons. The transition has been anticipated for some time, and the recruitment and retention choices heading into 2026 reflect a team consciously moving from star-led certainty towards a broader, development-driven model.
Navigating a post-founders era
Lidl-Trek’s 2025 season illustrated both resilience and limitation. The team slipped from second in the UCI rankings in 2024 to fourth, behind FDJ United-SUEZ, SD Worx-Protime and UAE Team ADQ. That drop was not the result of collapse, but of reduced firepower at the very top end, particularly after Elisa Longo Borghini’s move to UAE Team ADQ in 2024.
What remained was a strong but younger core. Elisa Balsamo continued to deliver at the highest level, winning Trofeo Alfredo Binda and Scheldeprijs and adding stage victories at Setmana Ciclista Valenciana and the Tour de Suisse Women. Anna Henderson emerged as a consistent stage race threat, winning at the Giro d’Italia Women and Tour of Guangxi, while Clara Copponi added one-day victories.
At the same time, Lidl-Trek’s youth-focused recruitment drive in 2024 had yet to fully mature. Riders such as Ava Holmgren, Isabella Holmgren, Felicity Wilson-Haffenden and Fleur Moors showed flashes of promise, but only Isabella Holmgren consistently converted potential into results, including victory at Durango-Durango and a national under-23 time trial title.
Retaining competitiveness through continuity
Despite the impending retirements, Lidl-Trek have retained the majority of their competitive spine. Balsamo remains the clear focal point for sprint finishes and selective one-day races, supported by Copponi and Henderson. Niamh Fisher-Black continues to progress into a genuine GC and Ardennes contender, underlined by her silver medal at the World Championships and a series of early-season top-10 finishes in 2025.
Riejanne Markus and Amanda Spratt provide experience and tactical stability in stage races, while Shirin van Anrooij’s return from iliac artery surgery adds another dimension to the Classics group. Isabella Holmgren’s trajectory suggests she will increasingly move from protected prospect to reliable points scorer across one-day races and shorter stage events.
This retained core gives Lidl-Trek a baseline level of competitiveness, even as they lose the experience and authority that Deignan and Van Dijk brought to race situations.
Recruitment focused on opportunity rather than certainty
Lidl-Trek’s incoming class for 2026 does not feature a like-for-like replacement for their retiring leaders. Instead, the team have opted for riders whose profiles align with aggressive racing and long-term upside.
Ricarda Bauernfeind arrives from Canyon SRAM zondacrypto as perhaps the most immediately recognisable name. Her long-range solo victory at the Tour de France Femmes in 2023 remains one of the standout performances of that season, and her aggressive instincts fit neatly with Lidl-Trek’s preference for animated racing. With Gaia Realini’s 2025 season proving quieter than expected, Bauernfeind is likely to find greater freedom to explore stage-hunting and secondary GC ambitions.
Loes Adegeest brings a different but complementary skillset. After a season spent largely in support roles, including key work in stage races, she offers Lidl-Trek a rider capable of both delivering a finishing kick and contributing significantly to team objectives. Her past success at the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race and stage win at Volta a Catalunya underline her ability to seize opportunity when given responsibility.
Margot Vanpachtenbeke represents another development-focused addition. A late entrant to elite cycling, she has progressed rapidly, winning stages and general classifications at lower levels and demonstrating strong race instincts from breakaways. Her arrival strengthens Lidl-Trek’s depth in one-day races and rolling stage profiles.
Marine Lenehan rounds out the incoming group as a calculated gamble. Still relatively new to the sport, her trainee stint with the team in 2025 clearly convinced management that her progression warranted a full contract. While expectations will be measured, her inclusion reflects Lidl-Trek’s willingness to invest in non-linear development pathways.
Organisational stability behind the scenes
Alongside rider changes, Lidl-Trek’s broader organisational structure has been reinforced. Lidl’s acquisition of a majority stake across the men’s and women’s teams brings financial security and long-term planning capacity. A new headquarters and logistics centre in Germany, alongside expanded performance infrastructure, positions the team to better support rider development.
The return of Fränk Schleck as a sport director, working alongside Ina Teutenberg, further strengthens the operational side. In a period of transition on the road, off-bike stability becomes even more critical.
Assessing the competitive outlook
Lidl-Trek enter 2026 as a team in controlled transition. The loss of Deignan and Van Dijk removes experience, tactical authority and proven engines, but the squad has not been left hollow. Instead, responsibility is spread across a wider group, with Balsamo, Fisher-Black and Henderson forming the performance backbone.
The incoming riders are unlikely to deliver immediate, headline-defining results on the scale of the departing leaders. However, they collectively reinforce a racing identity built on aggression, depth and opportunity. Rather than seeking a single superstar replacement, Lidl-Trek appear content to see which riders step forward under increased responsibility.
That approach carries risk, but also upside. If even one or two of Bauernfeind, Adegeest or Vanpachtenbeke make a decisive step forward, Lidl-Trek could stabilise their position among the top teams while continuing to develop the next generation. The transition may not be seamless, but it is clearly deliberate.
2026 Lidl-Trek Roster
- Loes Adegeest
- Elisa Balsamo
- Ricarda Bauernfeind
- Lucinda Brand
- Clara Copponi
- Niamh Fisher-Black
- Lauretta Hanson
- Anna Henderson
- Ava Holmgren
- Isabella Holmgren
- Marine Lenehan
- Riejanne Markus
- Fleur Moors
- Emma Norsgaard
- Gaia Realini
- Amanda Spratt
- Shirin van Anrooij
- Margot Vanpachtenbeke
- Felicity Wilson-Haffenden
