trek lidl tour de france team

• Spring Classics

UCI WorldTeam

The American Lidl-Trek squad emerged from the ashes of the RadioShack and Leopard squads with Trek Factory Racing stepping up as the title sponsor at the start of the 2014 season.

The team then became Trek-Segafredo in 2016, before changing to Lidl-Trek during the 2023 season.

In the past, Fabian Cancellara won three Monuments for the team before retiring in 2016. Cancellara’s Classics-winning legacy remains ingrained within the team, however. With the likes of Jasper Stuyven, Mads Pedersen and Edward Theuns on their roster, they’ve quickly become a force to be reckoned with in one-day races and a big rival of the cobble-crushing kings, Alpecin-Deceuninck and Soudal Quick-Step.

Their goals don’t lie solely in the spring though, with climbers like Bauke Mollema, Giulio Ciccone, Kenny Elissonde and Juan Pedro López, the team have also been a constant threat in the Grand Tours, particularly when it comes to hunting stage wins from breakaways.

For 2024, however, their remit has certainly broadened, with the continued development of cyclo-cross starlet Thibau Nys and the armada of new talent that has been signed ahead of the new road campaign.

Tao Geoghegan Hart is perhaps the blockbuster name amongst the team's new signings, with the former Giro d'Italia champion set to become their big GC leader in the Grand Tours. Geoghegan Hart is looking to rebound from a career-threatening crash at the 2023 Giro d'Italia, but the likes of Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step) and Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike) demonstrate that riders can come back better than ever following major rehabilitation.

Should that be the case with Geoghegan Hart, Lidl-Trek will be a team to be reckoned with in the Grand Tours. Not only do they already have Giulio Ciccone - who himself fancies a crack at a Grand Tour podium - but their climbing roster has been bolstered for 2024 with the additions of Carlos Verona, Sam Oomen, Patrick Konrad and Fabio Felline.

Tim Declerq will provide ample support on the flatlands, as too will the likes of Ryan Gibbons and Andrea Bagioli, whilst the signing of Italy's Jonathan Milan will offer the team a secondary sprinter to Pedersen.

[@portabletext/react] Unknown block type "span", specify a component for it in the `components.types` prop

Provided by FirstCycling

• Nationality United States of America
• Founded 2011
• Team Principal Luca Guercilena
• UCI Code LTK
• Bike Sponsor Trek

Bauke Mollema's Trek Madone: Lidl-Trek pro bike

Jumbo-Visma are catching the headlines for their 1x use, but Lidl-Trek are also testing the set-up

Pro bike: Bauke Mollema's Trek Émonda

Trek's climbing bike is one of the lightest in the WorldTour peloton

Tour de France pro bike: Mads Pedersen’s custom-painted Trek Madone

Pedersen’s Trek Madone has one of the most eye-catching designs at this year’s race

Top Lidl-Trek Stories

Serene expectations: Tao Geoghegan Hart’s new adventure at Lidl-Trek

Former Giro d'Italia champion discusses why the time was right to leave Ineos Grenadiers, as he enters 2024 with a clean bill of health and an eye on the Tour de France

Tim Declercq: Lidl-Trek have a stronger Classics team than Soudal Quick-Step

Belgian rouleur believes Remco Evenepoel can win the Tour de France in 2024 but that his new team have the edge when it comes to the cobbles of Paris-Roubaix and the Tour of Flanders

Mattias Skjelmose enters contract year with Vuelta ambitions and hopes of Lidl-Trek stay

Danish rider enjoyed a breakthrough year in 2023 and has future aims of competing for the overall at the Tour de France

Subscribe to the GCN Newsletter

Get the latest, most entertaining and best informed news, reviews, challenges, insights, analysis, competitions and offers - straight to your inbox

Jeux officiels

Edition 2023

• Classements
• Vainqueurs d'étapes
• Toutes les vidéos

Culture Tour

• Engagements
• Chiffres clés
• Enjeux sportifs
• Collection "Maillot Jaune"
• Maillots du Tour
• Partenaires
• L'Histoire du Tour

Édition 2024

Suivez-nous.

Recevez des informations exclusives sur le Tour de France

Accréditations

Déficients visuels, politique de confidentialité, vos droits rgpd.

• Training and Health
• How To…
• Live Streaming

• Grand Tours
• Tour de France

Trek-Segafredo becomes Lidl-Trek ahead of Tour de France

Lidl-Trek presented their new kit ahead of the Grand Départ of the Tour de France in Bilbao.

Lidl is the new sponsor of the American WorldTour team and the kit has the well-known colors red, yellow and blue of the supermarket chain that replaces the Segafredo coffee brand.

The new sponsorship will allow the team to grow and will also create a development team for 2024, building the team from scratch.

“Over the years, we’ve invested a lot in young riders who are developing at a high level,” general manager Luca Guercilena said. “Loyalty to the team has been fundamental to reaching our potential. That will never change.”

Mads Pedersen, Quinn Simmons, Mattias Skjelmose, Giulio Ciccone, Jasper Stuyven, Alex Kirsch, Juan Pedro Lopez and Tony Gallopin rode down the aisle of the supermarket to reveal the new colours.

The reveal you have all been waiting for! #LidlTrekKitDay pic.twitter.com/jEEVNqq7Hn — Lidl-Trek (@TrekSegafredo) June 28, 2023

RELATED ARTICLES MORE FROM AUTHOR

Pogacar to ride Giro d’Italia for the first time in 2024

Geraint Thomas to focus on Giro and Tour in 2024

Wout van Aert says will target Giro d’Italia in 2024

Pogacar says rivalry with Vingegaard could go down ‘in history’

Primoz Roglic heading to Bora-hansgrohe in 2024

Mark Cavendish delays retirement, brings Mørkøv to Astana

Leave a reply cancel reply.

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

EDITOR PICKS

2024 La Fleche Wallonne LIVE STREAM

2024 Tour of the Alps LIVE STREAM

2024 Amstel Gold Race LIVE STREAM

Popular posts.

Giro d’Italia, Milan-San Remo under threat of cancellation due to coronavirus

2020 UAE Tour LIVE STREAM

Ewan storms to victory on stage 2 of UAE Tour

Popular category.

• Results 1805
• Grand Tours 1566
• Tour de France 707
• POPULAR THIS WEEK 616
• Live Streaming 569
• Giro d'Italia 547
• Interviews 382

• Tour de France
• Giro d'Italia
• La Vuelta ciclista a España
• World Championships
• Amstel Gold Race
• Milano-Sanremo
• Tirreno-Adriatico
• Liège-Bastogne-Liège
• Il Lombardia
• La Flèche Wallonne
• Paris - Nice
• Paris-Roubaix
• Volta Ciclista a Catalunya
• Critérium du Dauphiné
• Tour des Flandres
• Gent-Wevelgem in Flanders Fields
• Clásica Ciclista San Sebastián
• INEOS Grenadiers
• Groupama - FDJ
• EF Education-EasyPost
• Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team
• BORA - hansgrohe
• Bahrain - Victorious
• Astana Qazaqstan Team
• Intermarché - Wanty
• Lidl - Trek
• Movistar Team
• Soudal - Quick Step
• Team dsm-firmenich PostNL
• Team Jayco AlUla
• Team Visma | Lease a Bike
• UAE Team Emirates
• Arkéa - B&B Hotels
• Alpecin-Deceuninck
• Grand tours
• Countdown to 3 billion pageviews
• Favorite500
• Profile Score
• Most successful rider
• Points per rider
• Most racedays
• Races per nation
• Riders per country
• Wins per season
• Contribute socials
• Contribute program
• Start - Start
• Statistics - Statistics
• Season - Season
• Wins - Wins
• Results - Results
• Transfers - Transfers
• Program - Program
• More - More

Lidl - Trek (WT)

• Tour of the Alps
• Transfers in
• Transfers out
• MOLLEMA Bauke
• PEDERSEN Mads
• STUYVEN Jasper
• GALLOPIN Tony
• THEUNS Edward
• SKUJIŅŠ Toms
• CICCONE Giulio
• CATALDO Dario
• SKJELMOSE Mattias
• ABERASTURI Jon
• ELISSONDE Kenny
• LIEPIŅŠ Emīls
• GHEBREIGZABHIER Amanuel
• TESFATSION Natnael
• HOELGAARD Markus
• TOLHOEK Antwan
• KIRSCH Alex
• MOSCA Jacopo
• BERNARD Julien
• LÓPEZ Juan Pedro
• SIMMONS Quinn
• TIBERI Antonio
• VACEK Mathias
• BARONCINI Filippo
• VERGAERDE Otto
• TEUTENBERG Tim Torn
• HELLEMOSE Asbjørn
• BRUSTENGA Marc
• PEDERSEN Martin
• AEBERSOLD Nils

Quick links

• Compare to other teams

Related teams

• Lidl - Trek (WTW)
• Lidl - Trek Future Racing (CT)
• Team status: WT
• Abbreviation: LTK
• License country: United States

H2H Suggestions

• Team Arkéa Samsic

• View all gear

Upcoming races for team

Last victories, top results, grand tours.

• Vuelta a España

Major Tours

• Volta a Catalunya
• Tour de Romandie
• Tour de Suisse
• Itzulia Basque Country
• Milano-SanRemo
• Ronde van Vlaanderen

Championships

• European championships

Top classics

• Omloop Het Nieuwsblad
• Strade Bianche
• Gent-Wevelgem
• Dwars door vlaanderen
• Eschborn-Frankfurt
• San Sebastian
• Bretagne Classic
• GP Montréal

Popular riders

• Tadej Pogačar
• Wout van Aert
• Remco Evenepoel
• Jonas Vingegaard
• Mathieu van der Poel
• Mads Pedersen
• Primoz Roglic
• Demi Vollering
• Lotte Kopecky
• Katarzyna Niewiadoma
• PCS ranking
• UCI World Ranking
• Points per age
• Latest injuries
• Youngest riders
• Grand tour statistics
• Monument classics
• Latest transfers
• Favorite 500
• Points scales
• Profile scores
• Reset password
• Cookie consent

About ProCyclingStats

• Cookie policy
• Contributions
• Pageload 0.1335s

The Fastest Men and Women of the Giro d’Italia, Tour de France, and Vuelta a España

Not all sprinters are created equal. So, let’s delve into the tactical genius and prowess of the peloton’s best mad men and women.

Sprinters with something to prove

Women’s top sprinters.

But what about the green and purple jerseys , those awarded to the leaders and winners of the points classifications, often, though not always, noted sprinters?

These are men and women capable of making unfathomable watts, often after four, five, and sometimes six-plus hours of racing, who are held at bay all day, only to unleash their greatest skills for barely a few hundred meters. They’re often the ones who give us the biggest thrills and the narrowest victories (or defeats).

While we focus on the speed and raw power of sprinters, one thing that’s often overlooked is how well they race; how the best sprinters are often the most patient riders, waiting until the perfect moment to launch their attacks. Theirs is often a game of cat-and-mouse, a strategic battle as much as a power-based one. Given the blazing speed at which these riders can sprint, it’s easy to forget that they’re some of the savviest riders in the peloton.

So, who are they? Let’s take a deeper look at the riders going for those green jerseys and points competitions at the Giro d’Italia , Tour de France , and Vuelta a España this summer.

Men’s Top Sprinters

Jasper philipsen – alpecin-deceuninck.

The young Belgian, once derided as “Jasper the Disaster,” is the best sprinter in the world right now. Possessing the perfect combination of strength, racing know-how, and the patience required to win a bunch sprint, he has to be the favorite heading into any stage suited to sprinters. After a second-place finish at Roubaix , the reigning Tour de France green jersey will head into this year’s Grande Boucle as the heavy favorite to repeat.

Mads Pedersen – Lidl-Trek

Unlike most others on this list, Mads Pedersen is hardly a pure sprinter. Rather, the one-day specialist has shown that he’s most at home when launching attacks from a long way out. In fact, just a few weeks ago, he did something most people didn’t think was possible when he stayed with Mathieu van der Poel for some fifty kilometers in Ghent-Wevelgem , only to outsprint the Dutch superstar in the closing meters. There isn’t a team in the men’s peloton looking quite as strong as Lidl-Trek is right now, so expect Mads to compete for at least a few bunch sprint wins in his scheduled Tour and Vuelta appearances.

Tim Merlier – Soudal-Quick-Step

By the metric of the modern peloton, Tim Merlier is getting a bit long in the tooth. The 31-year-old from Flanders only has two Grand Tour stage wins to his name: one in the Giro and one in the Tour . But, as most of Merlier’s early career was focused on cyclocross racing, he very well could just be coming into his prime. In the last three seasons, Merlier has won the Belgian National Road Race and Brugge-De Panne, and, from 2022 to this year, three-peated in Nokere Koerse. Maybe, like a great sprinter does, he’s waiting until the perfect moment to launch.

Mark Cavendish – Astana Qazaqstan

In 2024, Cav is sitting on the precipice between these two categories. The Manx Missile was coaxed out of retirement not once but twice with the promise of nabbing Eddy Merckx’s longstanding record of 34 Tour de France stage wins. And while his early-season returns have been anything but stunning, we’re talking about the greatest sprinter of all time here. And so, for that very reason, we have to consider Cav, a two-time Tour de France green jersey winner, in the upper echelon here.

Dylan Groenewegen – Jayco AlUla

Groenewegen has five Tour de France stage wins. But four of them came before 2020 and one in 2022. Much of that drought likely has to do with the nine-month ban he received from the UCI after it was determined he caused the crash that put Fabio Jakobsen in an induced coma for two days. Still, Groenewegen has shown form early this season with a ninth-place finish in Ghent-Wevelgem and a few strong stages in Paris-Nice and the UAE Tour.

Kaden Groves – Alpecin-Deceuninck

Groves, the four-time Vuelta a España stage winner and reigning green jersey champion of that race, will likely contest again for several of that race’s sprint stages. Groves has shown a predilection for hilly stages that tend to thin the herd over the course of the day, stages that are becoming increasingly common in the modern Grand Tour.

Arnaud Démare – Arkéa–B&B Hotels

Though he didn’t get any last year, Arnaud Démare has won ten Grand Tour stages: eight in the Giro and two in the Tour . He’s also a two-time points champion in the Giro. And though his spring campaign has been nothing to write home about, he’s an expert at positioning when the bunch really starts charging. Given as much, he should have more than a few opportunities to outsprint the bunch in this summer’s Tour.

Fabio Jakobsen – dsm firmenich PostNL

Like a few others on this list, Jakobsen’s results don’t necessarily match his strength. Easily one of the fastest sprinters in the peloton, Jakobsen will definitely find his way to the bunch in this year’s Giro and Tour, where he’ll try to add to his palmarès, which already counts five Vuelta stage wins. Of course, he hasn’t gotten one of those since 2021, so you either think he’s washed or he’s due.

Dark Horses

Sam Bennett (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) - Outside of Mark Cavendish, Sam Bennett is the most decorated racer on this list. His palmarès includes five stage wins at the Vuelta , three at the Giro , and two at the Tour . He was also the Tour’s 2020 green jersey. And though his last two seasons have been hardly spectacular, it’s easy to predict that Sam Bennett could be in the mix for stage wins, especially after he was left off AG2R’s Tour roster last year.

Caleb Ewan (Jayco AlUla) - The man who was once a sure-fire bet to take a Grand Tour sprint stage—he’s won ten in his career—has fallen to the bottom of this pack simply because he hasn’t been able to nab a stage win since the 2021 Giro d’Italia . Of course, he’s still one of the strongest sprinters on Earth and always a threat to take a win, which, over the last three years, he’s been ever so close to. Despite his recent cold streak, Ewan is truly one of the riders you can never, ever count out.

Biniam Girmay (Intermarché-Wanty) - After a historic stage win in the 2022 Giro d’Italia and a third-place finish behind Jasper Phillipsen and Mark Cavendish in stage 7 of last’s Tour de France, the Eritrean rider showed a lot of promise as a Grand Tour sprinter. Now confirmed for the Giro, we hope to see Girmay bring on the heat to the favorites.

Alberto Dainese (Tudor Pro Cycling) - While still early in his professional career, Dainese has already demonstrated his potential as a top-level sprinter and is definitely one to watch. In 2023, the Italian sprinter won two Giro stages and one Vuelta stage.

On the women’s side of the coin, there’s far less separation between the heavy favorites, the maybe-they-could, and the sprinters who might steal a stage here or there. And much of that has to do with the fact that there’s much more parity in general in the women’s WorldTour (which is why we should all be watching a lot more women’s races!). But there is still the cream of the crop and everyone else.

Lotte Kopecky – SD Worx-Protime

You could easily argue that Lotte Kopecky is the strongest bike racer in the world, regardless of gender. Her ability to sustain efforts and grind her opponents into dust behind her is matched only by the likes of Mathieu van der Poel . As she heads into this summer as the reigning Tour de France points champion, all eyes will be on the 28-year-old to rack up more stage wins.

Lorena Wiebes – SD Worx-Protime

It’s no secret that SD Worx is sitting on an embarrassment of riches right now. This is evidenced by the fact that Lotte Kopecky is racing on the same team as Lorena Wiebes , perhaps the strongest pure sprinter in the women’s peloton. The 25-year-old Dutchwoman has won Ronde van Drenthe four years in a row and just added to her palmarès with a Gent-Wevelgem victory last weekend. In a heads-up sprint, Wiebes is as tough as out there is.

Elisa Balsamo – Lidl-Trek

With wins at Brugge-De Panne and Trofeo Alfredo Binda and second-place finishes at Paris-Roubaix , Ronde van Drenthe, and Ghent-Wevelgem , the Italian one-day specialist is having a world-class spring campaign. She’s had a bit of success in stage races, nabbing a pair of wins at the 2022 Giro Donne and another pair at 2023’s Setmana Ciclista Valenciana. But at just 26 years old, Balsamo could be on the precipice of a breakout summer.

Charlotte Kool – dsm firmenich PostNL

At just 24 years old, Charlotte Kool seems to be hitting her prime. She won her first Grand Tour stage in last year’s Vuelta and was fighting for wins in Brugge-De Panne and Ghent-Wevelgem, where she finished second and fourth, respectively. She won the points classification in last year’s UAE Tour and should rack up plenty of points over the course of the summer.

Emma Norsgaard – Movistar

Though Norsgaard’s spring has been inauspicious at best, she’s always a tough out when it comes to sprints. With a pair of stage wins to her name (a Giro stage in 2021 and a Tour stage in 2023), she knows how to win from the bunch. She just needs to find her way to the front and put herself in a position to compete. If she can get there, there’s no doubt she’s got the legs.

Marianne Vos – Visma-Lease a Bike

So long as there’s a bike race, and so long as Marianne Vos is in that bike race, it’s just plain stupid to count her out. To list her palmarès would take all of the space this story has, so just accept the fact that she’s likely to be there at the end, whether the stage calls for a breakaway, a punchy climb, or a bunch sprint. And though she’s one of the women’s peloton’s elder stateswomen at age 36, with recent wins at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and Dwars door Vlaanderen , she’s still proving week after week that she can race with—and beat—the best.

Elisa Longo Borghini – Lidl-Trek

Between Mads Pedersen , Elisa Balsamo, and Longo Borghini, Lidl-Trek’s cup runneth over with one-day talent. But to win one-day races, you need to be able to create and sustain attacks, and there are few better in the women’s bunch at that than Longo Borghini. Hardly a pure sprinter, she’ll need to use her well-honed racing acumen if she’s going to take a stage win.

Chloé Dygert – Canyon//SRAM

Dygert is back. After suffering a training setback late last year, stemming from an injury sustained earlier in 2023, Dygert returned to the peloton with a sixth-place finish in Brugge-De Panne. And while she’s known more for her time-trialing acumen than her pure sprint ability, she can put down and sustain boatloads of power. If she and her teammates can put her in the right position, look for the American star to steal a stage here or there.

Chiara Consonni (UAE Team ADQ) - This is only Consonni’s second year at the WorldTour level, but she’s shown in recent times that she has the legs and the know-how to go elbow-to-elbow with the best of the bunch. Her best result is arguably a third-place finish in the points classification in this year’s UAE Tour. Look for her to steal a stage win or two (or three) as the summer progresses.

Rachele Barbieri (dsm firmenich PostNL) - For all of the success Rachele Barbieri has enjoyed on the track, she’s had little on the road. Her best finishes in major races are a pair of second-place finishes in stages in the Giro and UAE Tour and two fourth-place finishes in Tour stages. However, anyone who can make the kind of power Babieri is capable of making can and should not be counted out. Look for her to snag a sleeper win at some point this year.

Michael Venutolo-Mantovani is a writer and musician based in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. He loves road and track cycling, likes gravel riding, and can often be found trying to avoid crashing his mountain bike. 

.css-1t6om3g:before{width:1.75rem;height:1.75rem;margin:0 0.625rem -0.125rem 0;content:'';display:inline-block;-webkit-background-size:1.25rem;background-size:1.25rem;background-color:#F8D811;color:#000;background-repeat:no-repeat;-webkit-background-position:center;background-position:center;}.loaded .css-1t6om3g:before{background-image:url(/_assets/design-tokens/bicycling/static/images/chevron-design-element.c42d609.svg);} 2024 Giro d'Italia

2024 Giro d’Italia | Van Aert Is Officially Out

Van Aert’s Giro Dreams in Jeopardy

Is Tadej Pogačar Peaking Too Early?

Challengers of the 2024 Giro d'Italia and TdF

The 2024 Women’s Giro d’Italia Route is Epic

Wout Van Aert Won’t Sacrifice the Classics

Anticipating the 2024 Giro d’Italia Women Route

Wout van Aert will Focus on the 2024 Giro d’Italia

Sepp Kuss Should Target the 2024 Giro D’Italia

Alex Baudin’s Giro d’Italia Result Is Scrubbed

Results From the 2023 Giro Donne

Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek) : « Je suis dans la meilleure forme de ma vie »

Après son abandon sur la Flèche Wallonne, Mattias Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek) s'avance comme l'un des favoris sur Liège-Bastogne-Liège, dimanche. Interrogé par GCN, il est revenu sur son hypothermie de mercredi et sur ses ambitions pour la Doyenne.

« Je ne pouvais plus me contrôler. » Mattias Skjelmose le reconnaît : il a vécu un enfer, mercredi, sur les routes de la Flèche Wallonne. Essoré par le froid et la pluie qui s'est abattue sur les routes de la classique belge, le champion du Danemark a été contraint à l'abandon. À 65 km de l'arrivée, le leader de Lidl-Trek a posé le pied à terre, frigorifié sur son vélo et incapable de tenir debout .

Sur des images impressionnantes, on le voit quitter la Flèche dans les bras d'un assistant le transportant vers une voiture pour le mettre au chaud. « Je n'avais pas compris que j'étais en hypothermie sur le vélo, je tremblais » , a-t-il déclaré à Global Cycling Network .

Au final, sur les 174 coureurs au départ, ils ne seront que 44 à passer la ligne dans les temps. Mais la météo devrait être plus clémente pour Liège-Bastogne-Liège, ce dimanche. L'occasion pour Skjelmose de prendre sa revanche.

« Je peux dire, la main sur le coeur, que je suis dans la meilleure forme de ma vie , estime-t-il. Honnêtement, je crois que je peux être là-haut dimanche et me battre pour le podium » , espère le coureur de 23 ans, qui s'est révélé la saison passée au sommet du mur de Huy en terminant à la deuxième place derrière Tadej Pogacar. Vainqueur du Tour de Suisse  quelques mois plus tard, le Danois a confirmé en 2024 avec une victoire d'étape sur Paris-Nice et une 3e place sur le Tour du Pays Basque.

« Je me vois sur le podium avec Tadej (Pogacar) et Mathieu (Van der Poel), mais je ne connais pas encore l'ordre »

Mattias Skjelmose avant Liège-Bastogne-Liège

Remuant sur l'Amstel Gold Race, il a fini à la 17e place, mais ses ambitions seront tout autres sur la Doyenne. Après une 9e place en 2023, il souhaite monter sur le podium aux côtés de Mathieu Van der Poel et Tadej Pogacar. « Je me vois là avec Tadej et Mathieu, mais je ne connais pas encore l'ordre » , imagine le compatriote de Jakob Fuglsang, qui rêve d'imiter son aîné d'Israel-Premier Tech, dernier vainqueur danois à Liège en 2019.

Lidl-Trek complete new 14-rider development team for 2024

US rider Cole Kessler part of Continental squad headed by general manager Markel Irizar

Lidl-Trek have completed the roster of their new development team for the upcoming 2024 season, bringing aboard US rider Cole Kessler to round out a 14-rider squad.

The WorldTour team has joined the likes of Groupama-FDJ, Team dsm-firmenich, Lotto-Dstny, and EF Education-EasyPost as a top-level programme running a Continental development team next year, with such squads developing and promoting their own talent.

Kessler is one of 14 riders from 10 countries on the new Lidl-Trek devo squad. The 20-year-old makes the switch from the Israel-Premier Tech Academy team after two seasons there.

The Californian will be joined in the squad by Danish trio Kristian Egholm, Patrick Boje Frydjkær and Martin Pedersen as well as German trio Niklas Behrens, Louis Leidert and Tim Torn Teutenberg.

Lidl-Trek confirm Tim Declercq arrival Lidl-Trek make Sam Oomen their ninth signing of the transfer window Introducing: Cole Kessler, who joins Israel Cycling Academy

Cameron Rogers (Australia), Axandre Van Petegem (Belgium), Nils Aebersold (Switzerland), Liam O'Brien (Ireland), Mats Wenzel (Luxembourg), Matteo Milan (Italy), and Jakob Söderqvist (Sweden) complete the squad, which is headed up by general manager, the former Trek racer Markel Irizar .

"Honestly, I'm really looking forward to the start of this program," Irizar said. "To have our own project is going to be super interesting. It will be a long-term project so we can really plan for the future of this team.

"Looking to our roster we have more fast guys and classics-style riders. We might miss a little bit in the long climbs, but I think we will be very good in the sprints and the cobbles. For me, the most important is that we start well with a good image and that we are able to show the team spirit we have."

Get The Leadout Newsletter

The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!

Team directeur sportif Sebastian Andersen – the son of WorldTour team DS Kim Andersen – said that he's excited to get started working with the range of talent and personalities at the new team.

"I'm immensely happy, completely over the moon and I feel proud and honoured to be invited to join this group of amazing people," he said. "I know the team very well as my father, Kim, is already a Lidl-Trek director.

"I know it's an amazing team and I'm really looking forward to being a part of it. After spending a few days at Trek HQ in Waterloo I've been blown away by how amazing the company is; the values and culture, you can feel that it's a close organization that also performs well.

"All new teams have to start from somewhere, but with the group of riders that Markel has assembled, I'm really, really excited about it because there is some really good talent in there and good personalities as well. I think with the young guys we can have a really good year."

The team is already planning ahead for future seasons, too, with the additions of Hector Alvarez (Spain) and Andrea Bessega (Italy) coming in 2025.

Thank you for reading 5 articles in the past 30 days*

Join now for unlimited access

Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

*Read any 5 articles for free in each 30-day period, this automatically resets

After your trial you will be billed £4.99 $7.99 €5.99 per month, cancel anytime. Or sign up for one year for just £49 $79 €59

Try your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

Dani Ostanek is Senior News Writer at Cyclingnews, having joined in 2017 as a freelance contributor and later being hired full-time. Prior to joining the team, they had written for numerous major publications in the cycling world, including CyclingWeekly and Rouleur.

Dani has reported from the world's top races, including the Tour de France, World Championships, and the spring Classics. They have interviewed many of the sport's biggest stars, including Mathieu van der Poel, Remco Evenepoel, Demi Vollering, and Anna van der Breggen.

As well as original reporting, news and feature writing, and production work, Dani also oversees How to Watch guides and works on The Leadout newsletter throughout the season. Their favourite races are Strade Bianche and Paris-Roubaix and their favourite published article is from the 2024 edition of the latter: 'Unless I'm in an ambulance, I'm finishing this race' – Cyrus Monk, the last man home at Paris-Roubaix

Flèche Wallonne winner Kasia Niewiadoma: 'I hope people will be inspired'

Mattias Skjelmose hit by hypothermia as only 44 men finish wet and cold La Flèche Wallonne

Decluttering mass starts, rewarding podium riders top changes to 2024 Life Time Grand Prix

Most Popular

Tailwind on every ride? – See e-bike trips

Book your fall training now – see Ride Camps

European Classic booking fast – see the trips

• Request a Catalog
• 866-464-8735

Select Date Range

Modal title, popular searches.

California Wine Country Bike Tour

Croatia and The Dalmatian Coast Bike Tour

Mallorca 7-Day Ride Camp Bike Tour

Tuscany Bike Tour

Tour De France Bike Tours

Official tour de france vacation packages.

As an  Official Tour Operator of the Tour de France and Team Lidl-Trek , in 2024 we will once again bring you to the race’s best moments with the greatest access to key mountain stages, and an exclusive event to witness the exciting time-trial race finale, this year taking place for the first time in Nice, France! Our Tour de France Femme bike tour also returns this year, and for the first time in its history, the race will conclude with an exhilarating finish on Alpe d’Huez. With incredible VIP access to the race, exclusive events with the Lidl-Trek team, perfectly located hotels, and the world’s best bikes and guides, nobody does the Tour like we do.»

Two Ways to Experience the Tour

As an Official Tour Operator of the Tour de France and Team Lidl-Trek, we have the best experiences for every cycling fan. From VIP race viewings, podium pictures, and Lidl-Trek meet and greets, Our Tour de France bike tours will give you access that no other tour operator can. Our two trip experiences are featured below:

Experience the most exciting parts of the race with our VIP Access to view the major stages of this year’s tour.

• Official Tour Operator VIP Race Access Passes
• Ride Tour de France featured climbs
• ­­Ride the Trek Domane SL 7 Disc, included in the trip price or upgrade to a Domane + SLR 7 (subject to availability)
• Enjoy first-class, fully dedicated VIP support from the Trek Travel team
• ­Non-rider trip options available

Ultimate Experience

With our Ultimate Experience trips, you’ll see the tour from an insider’s perspective, featuring all of the pro race essentials, plus a meet and greet with the Lidl-Trek team.

• Lidl-Trek access – Q&A cocktail hour with team representatives
• Tour the team bus and meet the team mechanic (subject to race regulations)
• Ride the Trek Domane SL 7 Disc, included in the trip price or upgrade to a Domane + SLR 7 (subject to availability)
• Non-rider trip options available

Trip Comparison Chart

If a date is marked as Private, it is reserved for a private group.

Looking to travel with a small group or looking for a custom date? Call our trip consultants at 866-464-8735

What is the Difference?

Ultimate luxury:.

Savor some of the most spectacular, 5-star properties in the world. Exuding luxury and elegance, these one-of-a-kind accommodations offer the chance to rejuvenate at award-winning spas, dine at Michelin-starred restaurants, and more.

Enjoy luxurious accommodations handpicked for a refined experience. From signature spa treatments to delicious local cuisine, you’ll be more than provided for; you’ll be pampered.

These handpicked hotels provide relaxation and fun in a casual and comfortable environment. Delicious cuisine and great service mix perfectly for a memorable stay.

On select cycling vacations, you’ll stay at a mix of hotel levels, from Explorer to Luxury to Ultimate Luxury. Rest assured, no matter which level of hotel you’re at, our trip designers carefully select every accommodation.

Activity Level

Road : 1-3 hours of riding. Up to 25 mi (40 km). Up to 1,000 ft (300 m).

Gravel: 1-3 hours of riding. Up to 20 mi (35 km). Up to 1,000 ft (300 m).

Hiking: 1-3 hours of hiking. Up to 5 mi (8 km). Up to 1,000 ft (300 m).

Road : 2-4 hours of riding. 20-35 mi (35-60 km). Up to 2,500 ft (750 m).

Gravel: 2-4 hours of riding. 15-30 mi (25-45 km). Up to 2,000 ft (300 m).

Hiking: 2-4 hours of hiking. 4-8 mi (6-12 km). Up to 1,500 ft (450 m).

Road : 3-5 hours of riding. 25-55 mi (40-85 km). Up to 4,500 ft (1,500 m).

Gravel: 3-5 hours of riding. 20-40 mi (35-60 km). Up to 3,000 ft (900 m).

Hiking: 3-5 hours of hiking. 6-10 mi (9-16 km). Up to 2,000 ft (600 m).

Road : 4+ hours of riding. 40-70 mi (60-110 km). Up to 8,000 ft (2,400 m).

Gravel:  4+ hours of riding. 30-50 mi (45-80 km). Up to 4,000 ft (1,200 m).

Hiking: 4+ hours of hiking. 7-15 mi (11-24 km). Up to 4,000 ft (1,200 m).

What are your trip styles?

Classic - reserve:.

Savor the finer things as you relax in luxurious 5-star accommodations and wine, dine, and ride in some of the most unforgettable destinations around the world.

Classic - Signature:

Explore beautiful destinations by bike, enjoy extra inclusions, savor delicious local cuisine, and enjoy the perfect mix of accommodations.

Classic - Discovor:

Enjoy a casual cycling vacation with fantastic routes and comfortable accommodations.

Train like the pros in some of their favorite riding destinations.

See the pros in action at the biggest cycling events of the year.

Cross Country:

Tackle an epic adventure that takes you point-to-point across mountains, countryside, and more.

Self-Guided

Enjoy a bike tour on your schedule with just your chosen travel companions.

Single Occupancy

Sometimes it’s more convenient and comfortable to have your own room while on vacation. We understand and that’s why we offer a Single Occupancy option. The additional price guarantees a private room all to yourself

This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website.

• off.road.cc
• Dealclincher
• Fantasy Cycling

Support road.cc

Like this site? Help us to make it better.

• Sportive and endurance bikes
• Gravel and adventure bikes
• Urban and hybrid bikes
• Touring bikes
• Cyclocross bikes
• Electric bikes
• Folding bikes
• Fixed & singlespeed bikes
• Children's bikes
• Time trial bikes
• Accessories - misc
• Computer mounts
• Bike bags & cases
• Bottle cages
• Child seats
• Lights - front
• Lights - rear
• Lights - sets
• Pumps & CO2 inflators
• Puncture kits
• Reflectives
• Smart watches
• Stands and racks
• Arm & leg warmers
• Base layers
• Gloves - full finger
• Gloves - mitts
• Jerseys - casual
• Jerseys - long sleeve
• Jerseys - short sleeve
• Shorts & 3/4s
• Tights & longs
• Bar tape & grips
• Bottom brackets
• Brake & gear cables
• Brake & STI levers
• Brake pads & spares
• Cassettes & freewheels
• Chainsets & chainrings
• Derailleurs - front
• Derailleurs - rear
• Gear levers & shifters
• Handlebars & extensions
• Inner tubes
• Quick releases & skewers
• Energy & recovery bars
• Energy & recovery drinks
• Energy & recovery gels
• Heart rate monitors
• Hydration products
• Hydration systems
• Indoor trainers
• Power measurement
• Skincare & embrocation
• Training - misc
• Cleaning products
• Lubrication
• Tools - multitools
• Tools - Portable
• Tools - workshop
• Books, Maps & DVDs
• Camping and outdoor equipment
• Gifts & misc

Tour de France pro bikes you can buy yourself — from Trek, Giant, Canyon, Merida, Bianchi, Pinarello, Colnago + Wilier

First Published Jul 2, 2023

The Tour de France is underway and here are some of the team bikes that you can buy yourself – as long as you’re willing and able to drop a whole lot of money on it. 

Bike brands often sell more affordable versions of models that sponsored teams ride, with spec downgrades to make price points, but that's not what we're covering here. No, these bikes are either virtually identical to those ridden in the Tour or have just a few differences. Essentially, they're of a similar level.

Sometimes there will be differences in components. A race team might have a deal with a certain manufacturer, for example, while the bike brand has commercial reasons for speccing product from a different company. Mainly, though, the components shown here are the same as you'll see used in the Tour

To keep things manageable, we’ve stuck with bikes that are finished in team livery or at least the same colours as the relevant team. If team colours don’t interest you, all of the framesets shown here come in other finishes too. 

Check out all of the bikes being raced in the 2023 Tour de France

Every frameset that you see in the Tour de France is commercially available, or it will be soon – that's one of the UCI's rules. Even if a bike brand doesn't offer a complete bike built up with the same components used by a particular team, you could put together a copy of anything ridden by the pros... as long as you're prepared to throw enough money at it. 

Here are bikes you can get your hands on that are the closest to those ridden by the pros at the Tour de France.

Alpecin-Deceuninck: Canyon Aeroad CFR Disc Di2 £8,799

Canyon offers its Aeroad CFR Disc Di2 in an Alpecin-Deceuninck finish. As the name suggests, it’s built up with a Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 groupset, which is what the team riders use.

The bike you can buy is specced with DT Swiss wheels and a Rotor ALDHU24 crankset and INspider power meter, whereas the pros are on Shimano all the way.

Canyon-SRAM:  Canyon Aeroad CFR eTap £9,999

Canyon also offers its Aeroad CFR in a Canyon-SRAM replica. As a UCI Women’s World Tour team, Canyon-SRAM will be racing the Tour de France Femmes which starts on 23rd July 2023. 

Canyon-SRAM riders use SRAM Red eTap AXS groupset components, including power meters, and Zipp wheels, all of which are found on this bike. The team uses Schwalbe tyres while you get Continental GP 5000s here, but the build is extremely close to what you’ll see the pros using.

Astana Qazaqstan Team: Wilier Filante SLR €11,300  and Wilier 0 SLR €11,300

The Wilier Filante SLR aero road bike (above) and the lightweight Wilier 0 SLR (below) are each available in gorgeous Astana Qazaqstan Team finishes, as well as various other paint jobs. They’re both available in several different component specs with prices starting at €8,400. 

Check out our Wilier Filante SLR review

A build including Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 – the groupset used by Astana Qazaqstan – will set you back €11,300.

> Check out Mark Cavendish’s Wilier Filante SLR

The spec also includes a Prologo saddle and Vittoria tyres, which is what the Astana boys use, although you’ll get Wilier’s own wheels, made with Miche, whereas the team bikes are fitted with Corima (or in some cases HED). That aside, this setup is close to the one you’ll see ridden in the Tour de France.

Bahrain Victorious: Merida Reacto Team £8,500  and Merida Scultura Team £8,000  

Although Bahrain Victorious riders are using Pearl White bikes for the Tour de France, you can buy both Merida Reacto aero road bike (above) and Scultura lightweight road bike (below) in standard team finishes. 

Read our review of the Merida Reacto Team-E 2021  

The Reacto and the Scultura frames are each available in a top-level CF5 version, as used by the pros, and in a cheaper and slightly heavier CF3 build. Both of the bikes above are CF5.

The component specs are extremely close to those used by the pros too, with Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 groupsets, Vision wheels, Continental tyres, and Prologo saddles. 

Check out our Merida Reacto 6000 review

The Scultura Team comes with a Merida handlebar and stem whereas Bahrain Victorious use FSA/Vision products, but that’s about the only significant deviation.

Lidl-Trek:  Trek Madone SLR 9 eTap Project One Icon £16,150  and Trek Emonda SLR 9 eTap Project One Icon £14,600  

Trek-Segafredo has just changed its name to Lidl-Trek and riders will race the Tour de France on bikes that feature Trek’s eight new Project One Icon paint schemes – Project One being Trek’s custom programme.

Former world champion Mads Pedersen, for instance, has a bike with a Chroma Ultra-iridescent finish, for example. That paint job is priced at £3,850… and then you have to factor in the price of the bike that goes underneath it. Even the least expensive Project One Icon finish is £1,650.

Trek’s Madone (above), which the US brand bills as its “fastest road race bike ever”, features IsoFlow technology – a huge hole in the seat tube, essentially – that’s said to provide an aerodynamic benefit and save weight.

Trek releases radical Madone SLR, its “fastest road race bike ever” 

Lidl-Trek uses SRAM Red eTap AXS groupsets and Bontrager wheels which you can choose through Project One, although you have to spec Bontrager tyres rather than the team’s Pirellis.

The Trek Emonda SLR AXS (above) – the lightweight road bike in the range – is also available in the new Project One Icon finishes.

If you’re happy to go without the super-posh finish, Trek Madone SLR 9 eTaps start at £14,500 through Project One and Trek Emonda SLR 9 eTaps cost from £12,950.

Ineos Grenadiers: Pinarello Dogma F Dura Ace Di2 Team Replica £12,400

If you’re a fan of Ineos Grenadiers, you can buy a Pinarello Dogma F in team colours… as long as you have a big stack of cash to throw at it.

Read our review of the Pinarello Dogma F Super Record EPS 2023

The bike is specced with a sponsor-correct Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 groupset. Although Ineos Grenadiers occasionally stray from Shimano for race wheels, this build comes with frequently used Dura-Ace C50s.

The saddle is a departure, though. Although that looks like a £400 Fizik Antares Versus Evo Adaptive 00 pictured, you’ll actually get one from Pinarello’s Most brand. The official spec shows Pirelli P Zero Race rather than Conti tyres too.

Arkea Samsic: Bianchi Oltre RC €13,849 

This one is a bit of a cheat because it’s not a team edition, it’s just that Arkea Samsic happens to use the Oltre RC in this colour scheme and with almost the same build: Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 groupsets and wheels.

Okay, the pros use Continental tyres and Selle Italia saddles rather than the Pirelli and Bianchi options fitted here, but aside from the team logos, those are the only real differences.

Arkea Samsic will be riding the final stage of this year's race on the Bianchi Oltre RC Tour de France Limited Edition  (above).

> Bianchi introduces Tour de France Oltre RC road bike

Just 176 of these are available, that figure chosen because it's the number of riders starting this year's Tour. The price of these is €15,500 (around £13,280) + VAT.

Team DSM: Scott Foil RC Pro £10,499

Again, we’re bending the rules with this one. Rather than being a true team edition bike in a special finish, Team DSM just happens to go with standard Scott paintwork and a similar component spec. 

With a Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 groupset and wheels, Vittoria Corsa tyres, and pretty much everything else from the Scott-owned Syncros brand, the build on this stock model is almost exactly the same as the pros use. The only real difference is the lack of a Shimano Dura-Ace power meter, but you could always get that upgraded.

UAE Team Emirates: Colnago V4Rs frameset £4,999.95

Colnago offers its top-level V4Rs in a UAE Team Emirates finish. It’s not the most eye-catching finish ever – it’s pretty low key, to be honest – but you get a UAE flag on the seat tube, and red fork lowers with UAE Emirates logos.

Check out our review of the Colnago V4Rs 

Team Jayco Alula: Giant TCR Advanced SL Disc Team Frameset £2,999

You can’t buy a complete bike in a Team Jayco Alula finish in the UK, but you get the TCR Advanced SL Disc frameset – which is exactly the same as the pros use.

Getting it built up with a Shimano Dura-Ace Di2 groupset, Cadex wheels and Vittoria tyres would be easy enough with the usual proviso: you'll need a hefty wodge of cash to cover it.

Help us to fund our site

We’ve noticed you’re using an ad blocker. If you like road.cc, but you don’t like ads, please consider subscribing to the site to support us directly. As a subscriber you can read road.cc ad-free, from as little as £1.99. 

If you don’t want to subscribe, please turn your ad blocker off. The revenue from adverts helps to fund our site.

Help us to bring you the best cycling content

If you’ve enjoyed this article, then please consider subscribing to road.cc from as little as £1.99. Our mission is to bring you all the news that’s relevant to you as a cyclist, independent reviews, impartial buying advice and more. Your subscription will help us to do more.

Mat has been in cycling media since 1996, on titles including BikeRadar, Total Bike, Total Mountain Bike, What Mountain Bike and Mountain Biking UK, and he has been editor of 220 Triathlon and Cycling Plus. Mat has been road.cc technical editor for over a decade, testing bikes, fettling the latest kit, and trying out the most up-to-the-minute clothing. We send him off around the world to get all the news from launches and shows too. He has won his category in Ironman UK 70.3 and finished on the podium in both marathons he has run. Mat is a Cambridge graduate who did a post-grad in magazine journalism, and he is a winner of the Cycling Media Award for Specialist Online Writer. Now over 50, he's riding road and gravel bikes most days for fun and fitness rather than training for competitions.

Add new comment

Unfortunately with almost all of these you'll be obliged to buy them with handlebars about 10cm wider than the pros are running and no option to swap them for something narrower!

• Log in or register to post comments

Right, then you buy the bike and the team changes sponsor, colors or folds.. Then it's either dated or collectable just how you look at it..

Latest Comments

To paraphrase the Dalai Lama ("One should be kind whenever possible. And it is always possible"), there should only be 20mph limits in towns when...

Welcome - probably didn't show as they tagged it "not near miss of the day"?

The small frame, the aggressive posture, lots of standover height.

'Bad parking' blocks firefighters multiple times on same emergency call-out...

Cambridgeshire boy, 13, crashes Audi into garden wall after taking it from home...

Good stuff. Now do it on cycleway C9 through Hammersmith to Chiswick.

You're defending bombing hospitals and refugee camps and starving children.

Used car salesman is a complete attention-seeking plank....

I don't know if they're any better, but they's certainly become more boring.

At risk of being cynical, and stereotyping the police, it's so they don't have to leave the comfort of their panda cars and pursue on foot when...

Tour de France 2023 special kits rated: Lidl-Trek, Jumbo-Visma and more

We take a look at some of the best custom cycling kits for this years Tour de France

• Sign up to our newsletter Newsletter

BORA-Hansgrohe

Jumbo-visma, dsm-fermenich, bahrain-victorious, astana qazaqstan, intermarché-circus-wanty, israel-premier tech.

With the 2023 Tour de France just around the corner, many teams are unveiling new looks ahead of the biggest bike race in the world, using the opportunity to shake things up.

The reason behind the new kit designs ranges from a simple sponsorship refresh to team history tributes. Teams sporting predominantly yellow on their uniforms such as Uno X and Jumbo-Visma have had to change colours ahead of the French grand tour, out of respect for the coveted leaders jersey, the maillot jaune .

Before racing kicks off on the first of July, we thought we would take a closer look at some of the new Tour de France threads, and give our hot or not opinion. 

In honour of the 10th anniversary of the team's first appearance at the Tour, team Bora will be riding an outfit that honours the team's legacy over the past decade. The team has switched out its patchwork colour scheme for a showstopping marine green gradient.

Clothing sponsor, Le Col , has designed the kit around the team's 'Band of Brothers' mantra. A closer look at the jersey reveals the names of all the riders who have ridden the Tour in Bora-Hansgrohe colours over the last decade - an admirable touch we think.

It also, usefully, is a different shade of green to the new green jersey .

Le Col also says the jersey is 'engineered to prioritise speed, with strategically placed tripping panels to help smooth airflow and reduce drag when riding at pace'. This should help the likes of Jai Hindley get through those long fast stages that little bit easier.

Get The Leadout Newsletter

The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!

The new design from the German cycling world tour team is, we think, a winner. Subtle hints to the teams past, coupled with a beautiful new colourway earns the Le Col kit an 8/10.

The defending champions Jumbo-Visma will once again be swapping out the prominent yellow and black outfit for a design that should see no confusion with the maillot jaune .

The new Jumbo jerseys feature a mostly black design, with constellations along with a map of France across the chest. Another smart uniform - but the likes of Jonas Vingegaard will certainly be hoping the darker outfit won't harbor too much heat in the high mountains.

Team sponsor Agu has partnered with a theme park in the Netherlands, Efteling, to create an outfit inspired by the story ‘The Vélodrome, the story Ride your dreams’. Efteling wrote the story, which is inspired by the team's goals. The theme park highlights that it used to feature a merry-go-round where you could ride a bike, which was called the Vélodrome. The constellations are meant to reflect Jumbo-Visma's understanding of the importance of hard work in making dreams come true.

Overall we think the team's new look is pretty safe, but classy nonetheless. With a stacked squad that is hungry to retain the Tour de France title, these jerseys will certainly be on your TV screens an awful lot this July - and we don't think that's a bad thing. 7/10.

dsm-fermenich is sporting some very minor changes to their jerseys for this year's Tour. DSM has merged with the chemical company, Fermenich, requiring an update. Only a subtle rebranding, the new logo can now be found across the chest of dsm-fermenich riders, with the rest of the kit remaining untouched.

For this kit run down, we are only taking into account the clothing itself. If we accounted for their brand new sparkly Scott bikes that were unveiled at the Giro d'Italia, they would score more favourably! 1/10.

A post shared by Uno-X Pro Cycling Team (@unoxteam) A photo posted by on

2023 will be Team Uno-X's men's Tour de France debut. The Women's WorldTour team and men's ProTeam will be showing off a new colour-way at the world's biggest races this year.

Ahead of their Tour debut, Uno-X has gained a new sponsor in the shape of supermarket chain Rema 1000. From now on, the Uno-X squad will be clad in a predominantly red outfit with a yellow band around the chest. A timely change of colour too, eradicating any yellow jersey confusion.

A little while back, the general manager of team Uno-X Jens Haugland said "It still feels a bit surreal that we're going to the Tour de France, but in a few weeks, we will be at the starting line". We certainly wish them well in their maiden three-week tour, and support their bold colour choice. 6/10.

Bahrain-Victorious has a heritage-inspired kit for the 2023 Tour. The squad, who will be racing in honor of the late Gino Mäder , have swapped their usual red, orange, and blue colours for a lighter jersey, sporting white jerseys with light gold and teal flashes. 

The pearl-inspired design apparently pays homage to Bahrain’s rich history of collecting and processing this precious gem. Alé, Rudy Project , and Merida have all stepped in to make sure the Bahrain-Victorious squad stands out with custom kit, helmets, and bikes.

An aesthetic choice of lighter colours should also help to keep the heat at bay for team Bahrain-Victorious. We particularly like the duller shade of gold, which looks just right against the white Merida bikes of the team. We can't wait to see this kit in action and score the kit a 9/10.

🌊♻️🚴‍♂️ En el #DíaMundialDeLosOcéanos, ofrecemos nuestro apoyo a programas de protección con nuestro kit ‘Iceberg’ de Gobik, con el que correremos @LeTour y @letourfemmes avec @gozwift.Más info > https://t.co/jnBmic4pEIpic.twitter.com/rL7iixXilv pic.twitter.com/B5dWXANQvA June 22, 2023

Movistar has also gone for a lighter look this July, swapping out their usual navy colours in favor of 'Iceberg' white for the Tours. The Spanish squad has a winning ethos behind their new colours, too.

In collaboration with kit sponsor Gobik, Movistar's jerseys are made out of 'sustainable materials'. The kit also holds a charitable cause: at the end of the races, each jersey will be signed by its rider and auctioned off with profits going to ocean protection programs.

Movistar says its motivations behind the new jerseys are to raise awareness for climate change, as well as practically tackle the hot European summer. Enric Mas and Annemiek van Vleuten will be among the top riders looking to stay cool in the Alpes. 8/10.

⚡️🔥 What a news!Astana Qazaqstan Team presents the new design of its @GiordanaCycling jersey which will be wearing by the riders at the @LeTour, which starts in Bilbao on 1st July.📰👉Read more: https://t.co/SqS40SZthI#TDF2023 #AstanaQazaqstanTeam pic.twitter.com/JGZybVtG5u June 23, 2023

Astana Qazaqstan has joined the party with a special edition 2023 Tour de France kit for this year's race, which starts in Bilbao. This stunning kit features yellow flashes, and pays homage, the team says, to the "power of minerals and precious stones that the land of Kazakhstan is rich in".

The colour scheme is said to represent the blue of the sky, and the gold of the sun alongside elements from the flag of Kazakhstan. We also think the yellow/ gold is a nice nod to the Tour, although it probably isn't.

We think Astana Qazaqstan has hit a home run with this kit. The deep marble effect looks absolutely class and coupled with the team's Willier team bikes, it is a winning combination. All that remains to be seen is if Mark Cavendish will be able to find the fairy tale ending to his Tour de France Career. The best special kit yet. 10/10

This one is a bit of a cheat, as it is not a special Tour de France kit, but Lidl-Trek's new full-time outfit now they have switched names and sponsors from Trek-Segafredo. The USA-registered team has stopped with its white and red livery of before, and has instead gone with a new approach, which follows Lidl's blue, yellow and red colours.

It's really fun, with its business at the front, party at the back, approach. The big logos might grate with some, but this is what cycling is all about, right? Using skinny people as moving billboards. 

The national champion jerseys are interesting, with Lidl so prominent in the middle of the Danish flag on Mattias Skjelmose or on the stars and stripes of Quinn Simmons, but they are paying for exposure after all.

Fun, quirky, I like this kit. 9/10.

Intermarché-Circus-Wanty's special Tour de France kit is interesting because it really is not that different to the team's normal jersey. It looks pretty similar to the team's 2022 outfit, which is no bad thing, but for a special kit it does not feel particularly... special.

The press release might provide answers: "For its sixth participation in the most prestigious race in the world, Intermarché-Circus-Wanty worked with Belgian designer stycle.design, who designed a kit offering a special visibility to the principal sponsors thanks to a plain white background. 

"On this area, Gobert Matériaux occupies a central place on the breast, in addition to the position where the logo is since the beginning of season 2023. The typical neon yellow color of the team is predominant on the shoulders, with the bottom part of the kit keeping its blue marina aspect."

OK, it's just to give Gobert Matériaux more prominence, I think. It's clean, solid design, but perhaps a bit staid. 6/10.

Israel-Premier Tech has gone special kit crazy. The team already raced the Giro d'Italia in a fetching jersey which paid tribute to its wine sponsor, and now the Tour de France will be raced in a new white, blue and orange number.

According to the team: "The jersey's design is inspired by the Israel National Trail: the walking and cycling path that stretches from Kibbutz Dan in the north to Eilat in the south. The special Tour de France jersey, in a beautiful range of colours, promotes this major Israeli tourist attraction covering more than a thousand kilometres. 

"The three stripes are a reference to what National Geographic describes as one of the most beautiful hikes in the world: the white stripe representing the mountains and Mount Hermon in the north, the blue stripe symbolising the coast of Israel and the orange stripe representing the desert in the south."

All that symbolism, but I'm afraid this kit is a bit lost on me. The orange clashes quite badly with the blue and white. I suppose the team will stand out, but they will not be winning any style awards from this writer. 3/10.

We will be adding to this page with every new kit release for the 2023 Tour de France, so keep an eye out for the latest threads ahead of the biggest bike races in the world.

Thank you for reading 20 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access

Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription

Join now for unlimited access

Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

Joe is Cycling Weekly's tech writer. He's always had a love for bikes, since first riding a two wheeled steed before the age of four. Years down the line, Joe began racing at 16, and enjoyed great experiences internationally, racing in Italy, Spain and Belgium to name a few locations. Always interested in tech, Joe even piloted his Frankenstein hill climb bike to a Junior National Title in 2018.  After taking a step back from elite level racing in April 2022, Joe joined our team as a freelancer, before becoming Tech Writer in May 2023. 

Demi Vollering returns to defend her women's title on the same day

By Adam Becket Published 18 April 24

Deignan set to lead GB team at Tour of Britain Women and target the overall win as she builds for Paris games

By Tom Thewlis Published 18 April 24

Useful links

• Tour de France
• Giro d'Italia
• Vuelta a España

Buyer's Guides

• Best road bikes
• Best gravel bikes
• Best smart turbo trainers
• Best cycling computers
• Editor's Choice
• Bike Reviews
• Component Reviews
• Clothing Reviews
• Contact Future's experts
• Terms and conditions
• Privacy policy
• Cookies policy
• Advertise with us

Cycling Weekly is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site . © Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.

Liège-Bastogne-Liège 2024 - Analysing the contenders

L iège-Bastogne-Liège will close out the Ardennes Classics on Sunday, April 21, with the peloton vying for one last opportunity to win one of the prized one-day classics this spring.

It is the oldest of the Classics on the men's calendar, celebrating its 110th edition, and the fourth of five Monuments on offer after Alpecin-Deceuninck's Jasper Philipsen won Milan-San Remo and his teammate Mathieu van der Poel won both Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix .

Known as La Doyenne, Liège-Bastogne-Liège closes out the Ardennes Classics with a last-man-standing war of attrition over 250km or more and 11 classified climbs in the rolling hills of eastern Belgium.

On the women's side, Liège-Bastogne-Liège Femmes is the youngest of the Ardennes Classics. Its inaugural edition in 2017 formed the triple alongside Amstel Gold Race, which held its first edition in 2001 (though it was on hiatus for 13 years between 2004 to 2016) and Flèche Wallonne since 1998. 

With no women's races offered at Milan-San Remo or Il Lombardia, Liège-Bastogne-Liège marks the third and final Monument of the season. Only one rider has won all three, with Lizzie Deignan winning the Tour of Flanders in 2016, Liège-Bastogne-Liège in 2020 and Paris-Roubaix in 2021. 

This could change on Sunday if her teammate Elisa Longo Borghini or SD Worx-Protime's Lotte Kopecky triumphs in Liége.

Cyclingnews highlights the riders to watch in the men's and women's Liège-Bastogne-Liège.

Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates)

Tadej Pogačar crashed out of the 2023 Liège-Bastogne-Liège, fracturing three bones in his scaphoid and disrupting his hopes and ambitions for the Tour de France. This year, the UAE Team Emirates leader is targeting a Giro d’Italia-Tour de France double and is arguably in his best-ever form, even by his high standards.

While Mathieu van der Poel has dominated the cobbled Classics, Liège-Bastogne-Liège is far better suited to Pogačar, and it is difficult to see who can match his superb climbing skills and racing aggression.

Pogačar won the Doyenne of the Classics in 2021, and a second victory would give him a sixth Monument victory, equaling van der Poel's and confirming his readiness for the Giro d’Italia, which starts in just two weeks.  

Pogačar limited his racing before his busy summer of Grand Tours but has won often. He dominated Strade Bianche with an 80km solo attack on his season debut. He was ‘only’ third at Milan-San Remo behind Jasper Philipsen and Michael Matthews in the Via Roma sprint but then won four stages and the overall classification at the Volta a Catalunya.    

Pogačar has spent three weeks training at altitude at Sierra Nevada in the south of Spain. He avoided the cold and fatigue of the rain-soaked La Fleche Wallonne and so will arguably be the freshest rider on the start line in Liege on Sunday and perhaps the strongest at the finish after the hilly 254km race.      

Demi Vollering (SD Worx-Protime)

Demi Vollering's remarkable dominance of the Ardennes Classics last year saw her win all three events – making her the returning Liège-Bastogne-Liège champion – and become the second woman, after Anna van der Breggen in 2017, to win the triple crown. 

The team appears to have changed tactics for this year's Ardennes Classics in support of multiple riders during the week and play out their strategy on the road at each race. It was not a surprise then to see Lorena Wiebes sprinting for the win at Amstel Gold Race. Although she ended up with second place, after celebrating victory too soon in the sprint against Marianne Vos (Visma-Lease a Bike), and Vollering finished 22nd.

Vollering was somewhat of a wildcard for SD Worx-Protime at the Ardennes Classics because at this point in the season last year, she had already secured two victories, and so far, she has yet to win a race, although she came close with 2nd at both Brabantse Pijl and a cold and wet La Flèche Wallonne.

Her slower start to the season could be the strategy, however, as she looks to the bigger goals at the Tour de France Femmes, possibly also the Olympic Games and the World Championships.

Sharing the leadership role among her teammates at the Ardennes Classics will certainly have taken the pressure off Vollering, but she still remains a favourite for Liège-Bastogne-Liège and will undoubtedly not want to leave the Ardennes Classics without a win.

The team also has World Champion Lotte Kopecky as a contender, especially knowing that she is in good form after her win at the recent Paris-Roubaix. She also played a key role at Flèche Wallonne, where she ended up finishing 15th on the Mur de Huy in her first attempt. Watch for both Vollering and Kopecky to play their cards for the win in Liège on Sunday.

Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck)

Mathieu van der Poel suddenly seemed human at the Amstel Gold Race after weeks of incredible Classics performances. After his historic double at the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix, it will be fascinating to see what he can do against Pogačar and the rest in a Monument where the cobbles are swapped for the cotes. 

It will also be a moment of sports science as we see if Van der Poel’s talents and power can handle the 11 classified climbs and 4,100 metres of vertical climbing of Liège-Bastogne-Liège.  

Van der Poel has tempered his chances of success, highlighting how he is now racing at a disadvantage compared to Pogačar and others, but he also has nothing to lose in his final race of the spring.

Van der Poel has spent the week in Spain, avoiding the spotlight and training in the sun. The cooler spring temperatures of Liège might be a bit of a shock on his return to Belgium, but he has a pedigree in the race and cannot be ignored. In 2020, when the Classics were held in September and October, van der Poel finished sixth, just 14 seconds down on winner Primož Roglič and Pogačar.

Elisa Longo Borghini (Lidl-Trek)

Elisa Longo Bargain had high expectations coming into these Ardennes Classics, even opting to skip Paris-Roubaix so that she could focus on all three races. Her wins at the Tour of Flanders and Brabantse Pijl show that she is in top form this spring and has bounced back from a horrific 2023 season in which she suffered COVID-19, a skin infection and sepsis.

The Italian Champion has always been a contender for all three Ardennes Classics, and so far this year, she has finished fifth at the Amstel Gold Race and third at La Flèche Wallonne. She has one more chance of victory this Sunday in Liège-Bastogne-Liège.

She has finished twice on the podium at Liège-Bastogne-Liège, with a third in 2021 and a second last year, so she has the experience to be in the final for the win.

Lidl-Trek have shown dominance in tactics on the road, especially with her teammate Shirin van Anrooij. The two riders will be the two most-watched in the peloton, and if the race plays into their hands the way it did in Flanders, they could both end up on the podium again.

Stevie Williams (Israel-Premier Tech)

The Welshman showed his talents by winning the Tour Down Under in January but earned his place in this Liège-Bastogne-Liège analysis thanks to his impressive victory at La Fleche Wallonne on Wednesday.

Williams looked resilient in the cold and rain of the Ardennes and then bravely attacked with three hundred metres to go to the finish. Many other riders have faded on the steep slopes of the Mur de Huy, but Williams had the strength and power to stay away. 

Those talents could be vital on the 11 categories climbs and numerous others that make Liège-Bastogne-Liège so hard.

Williams and his Israel-Premier Tech teammates can race without any pressure or expectation, putting the onus on UAE Team Emirates, Alpecin-Deceuninck and Ineos Grenadiers. Michael Woods is absent due to a recent virus but Dylan Tuens is back to his best and will share leadership and ambitions with Willilams. They are a dangerous, underdog combination.  

Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon-SRAM)

Kasia Niewiadoma, the reigning gravel World Champion, is always a contender for the Ardennes Classics. 

Five years after she secured the win at Amstel Gold Race in 2019, she launched up the Mur de Huy with a powerful attack to win Flèche Wallonne on Wednesday. It was an inspiring performance, especially since she had stood on the podium in two previous editions but had never won before.

She came into these Ardennes Classics with new-found confidence after finishing second at the Tour of Flanders from a three-rider breakaway, and her victory in Huy will have added to her motivation ahead of Liège-Bastogne-Liège.

The last time she stood on the podium in Liège was in 2017, the first edition of Liège-Bastogne-Liège, but she has been in the top 10 in four other editions.

Her winning performance on the Mur de Huy shows her strength on short and steep climbs, but it was her late-race breakaway performance at the Tour of Flanders that really made her a contender for the title in Liège.

Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost)

Richard Carapaz has again endured a difficult spring, crashing hard at Tirreno-Adriatico and missing a month of racing. The Ecuadorian is a man of few words but a fighter who has overcome difficulty throughout his life and in his recent racing career to come back and win.  

Carapaz has only raced the Amstel Gold Race and La Flèche Wallonne but quickly impressed on the Mur de Huy and out in the terrible weather conditions. While other riders suffered and climbed off, Carapaz raced on and was upfront on the climb to the finish line. 

He suffered in the final metres, and other riders passed him before the finish, but it was a clear message that Carapaz was back and a dangerous contender for Sunday who should not be ignored.  

EF Education-Easypost have shown their strength as a team in virtually every classic but have obtained less than they deserved. Carapaz can count on a strong team that also includes co-leader Ben Healy, Mikkel Frølich Honoré and possibly a returning Neilson Powless after a knee injury wrecked his spring.  

Juliette Labous (Team dsm-firmenich PostNL)

Juliette Labous is a dark horse contender, opting to skip the cobbled Classics in favour of the Ardennes Classics. 

She steadily improved across the first two events, finishing 19th at the Amstel Gold Race, where her teammate Pfeiffer Georgi finished fourth, and then she was seventh on the Mur de Huy at Flèche Wallonne.

The French talent typically focuses on the Ardennes Classics, where she can show her strengths on the challenging and hilly terrain, before turning her attention to the shorter summer stage races ahead of her bigger goal at the Tour de France Femmes.

Her best place at Liège-Bastogne-Liège was eighth place in 2020, but it's a race where only the strongest survive the 10 ascents followed by a fast run-in to Liège, and we can anticipate Labous to be present in the final.

Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers)

Tom Pidcock has endured a contrasting week of Ardennes racing, winning the Amstel Gold Race with a superb performance and sprint finish but then suffering in the cold and rain of La Fleche Wallonne . 

Yet he remains a favourite for Liège-Bastogne-Liège, with the forecasts of a mainly dry Sunday easing his suffering and disappointment and poking his natural pride.  

Pidcock’s multiple talents mean he can race cyclocross, mountain bikes, Milan-San Remo, Paris-Roubaix, the Ardennes Classics and the Tour de France.

While van der Poel is handicapped by his solid physique on the many cotes of Liège-Bastogne-Liège, Pidcock is more of a climber and so will revel in the hills on Sunday.

He will not ride defensively and will surely join Pogačar if the Slovenian attacks early to create an open race and hurt van der Poel or anyone else. Pidcock and Pogačar could then go head to head and sprint for victory in Liege. That would be a thrilling end to one of the best Classics seasons for years. 

Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio (AG Insurance-Soudal)

Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio has been relatively quiet this spring campaign, finishing 17th at Strade Bianche and, more recently, 21st at Brabantse Pijl, but she has turned that around at the Ardennes Classics, finishing seventh at Amstel Gold Race and fifth at Flèche Wallonne.

For the first time in her career, she opted for a lengthy break and high-altitude training camp instead of competing at the cobbled Classics and perhaps will arrive fresher than her rivals as she contests the Ardennes Classics.

Her results so far seem to show an upward trajectory, and her form indicates that she is just starting to peak ahead of the late-spring stage races. 

Although she has never stood on the podium at Liège-Bastogne-Liège, she has finished four times in the top 10, including fourth place in 2018 and 2022. This means that she knows what it takes to make it to the final stages of the race in the lead group.

Honourable mentions

• Benoît Cosnefroy (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale)
• Mattia Skjelmose (Lidl-Trek)
• Marc Hirschi (UAE Team Emirates)
• Alexey Lutsenko (Astana Qazaqstan)
• Kévin Vauquelin (Arkéa - B&B Hotels)
• Ben Healy (EF Education-EasyPost)  
• Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers)
• Évita Muzic (FDJ-SUEZ)
• Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx-Protime)
• Shirin van Anrooij (Lidl-Trek)
• Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig (FDJ-SUEZ)
• Veronica Ewers (EF Education-Cannondale)
• Christina Schweinberger (Fenix-Deceuninck)

Mountainbike

• TFR Downhill
• TFR Cross Country
• Baloise-Trek
• TFR Triathlon
• Trek Ambassadors
• Regional teams and athletes

• Lidl-Trek Fanclub
• trekbikes.com

Juan Pedro López claims first pro win at Tour of the Alps

Juanpe takes both the stage win and race lead after an audacious attack in the Alps

Juan Pedro López claimed his first win as a professional rider after an impressive attack at 26km from the finish. He joined Giulio Pellizzari as the duo climbed and descended through unabating rain and low temperatures as they gained on the peloton.

10 KM TO GO – @juanpelopez97 ( @LidlTrek ) and Giulio Pellizzari ( @Bardiani_CSF ) are still going strong and leading with 40" gap. 📸 Vaishar #TotA #LiveUphill pic.twitter.com/mMrytPzt08 — Tour of The Alps (@Tourof_TheAlps) April 17, 2024

Juanpe attacked and dropped Pellizzari on the final climb before descending to the finish in Schwaz. The Spaniard never relented his effort, knowing that every second would count for the general classification. He crossed the line 38 seconds ahead of the chasing group and moves into the race lead by a margin of 31 seconds with two stages left to race.

It was an amazing day for me, my first pro victory, but it was a really s**t day for everybody. We started with four degrees and rain and it was one of the coldest days on the bike in my life. We started with the objective of not getting cold, but that was impossible, so in the end I changed to the other objective, which was to go for the stage. At the beginning I didn’t feel very good, I didn’t feel my hands, I didn’t feel the rest of my body so good. In the end, I could feel that my legs were good, which was important.

In this story

Discover more

How Bear National Team has helped fuel the U.S. MTB Renaissance

Longo Borghini third on the Mur de Huy

The Union rips into MTB downhill season on fresh custom Sessions

• Juan Pedro Lopez

The Italian champion confirms her good condition finishing La Fléche Wallonne on the podium, her fifth podium result at a Classic race since the start of the season.