Lidl-Trek will launch a women’s development team in 2027, adding a dedicated pathway to the WorldTour with ten riders from eight countries in its first roster. British national circuit race champion Kate Richardson is among the signings for Lidl-Trek Future Racing Women, alongside young prospects from the United States and across Europe.
The new squad will sit below Lidl-Trek’s established Women’s WorldTour team, providing a racing programme where riders can gain experience without immediately facing the demands of the sport’s top division. It brings the women’s operation closer to the structure already in place on the men’s side, where Lidl-Trek has run a separate development team.
Ten riders named for Lidl-Trek Future Racing Women
Richardson, 24, arrives from Handsling Alba Development Road Team, where she has been one of the leading performers on the British domestic circuit. She won the national circuit race title in 2025 and has mixed British racing with international starts, including the Tour de Feminin and Bretagne Ladies Tour. The move gives her access to a larger international team structure while continuing to develop beyond the domestic calendar.
The American contingent consists of Katherine Sarkisov and Ella Sabo. Sarkisov finished seventh in the under-23 individual time trial at the 2026 World Championships in Montréal, one of the leading results by a rider outside a Women’s WorldTour team in that event.
Two Italians, Chantal Pegolo and Matilde Rossignoli, join the first-year squad. They are accompanied by Austrian Tabea Huys, Luxembourg’s Liv Wenzel, Spain’s Ane Zubeldia, Germany’s Messane Bräutigam and Denmark’s Olympia Norris-Mortensen.
The ten riders represent eight nationalities, with different racing backgrounds and levels of experience. Their selection is not simply a list of junior recruits: Richardson is already an established elite rider, while several of her new teammates are still at the start of their international careers.
Fränk Schleck wants to give riders room to develop
Women’s team manager Fränk Schleck said the purpose of the new programme is to give younger riders the time and support to learn before they are expected to compete for results at WorldTour level. With the standard of women’s racing continuing to rise, there is a considerable gap between showing promise in junior or Continental events and coping with the hardest races on the calendar.
The development team is designed to narrow that gap through coaching, race experience and access to the wider organisation’s resources. Schleck also stressed that recruitment was not based solely on results, with potential, attitude and a willingness to learn considered alongside performances.
That approach could be important for riders moving between disciplines, including those with track or cyclocross backgrounds. Lidl-Trek has already demonstrated the value of combining disciplines in its senior women’s programme, and the new structure provides more room to develop athletes before making decisions about their long-term specialisms.
Development pathway added to an ambitious WorldTour programme
The announcement comes after a busy transfer period for Lidl-Trek’s senior women’s team. Former Tour de France Femmes winner Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney joins on a two-year agreement, while Blanka Vas has signed through 2028 and Ally Wollaston is another addition for next season.
Those are signings intended to strengthen a team competing for major WorldTour victories now. The development squad serves a different purpose, giving Lidl-Trek a route to identify and prepare future senior riders within its own organisation rather than relying entirely on recruitment from other teams.
The move also brings Lidl-Trek into an increasingly competitive area of women’s cycling. Canyon SRAM Generation has operated as a separate development programme for several seasons, while other WorldTour organisations are investing in similar pathways as the gap in race speed, resources and experience grows.
The inaugural Lidl-Trek Future Racing Women squad will begin racing in 2027. Details of its full calendar and any formal promotion arrangements between the development team and the WorldTour roster have not yet been confirmed.
