Incoming coach Grischa Niermann on leadership challenges at Lidl-Trek: 'We’re going to evaluate the riders'

For a long time, Niermann was an integral part of Visma | Lease a Bike and its predecessor teams. The German rider first competed for Rabobank, after which he became a team director. He later became Head of Racing, but this summer he was recruited by Lidl-Trek to succeed manager Luca Guercilena.

It was a huge surprise, and Niermann began working for the German team on September 1. He spoke with Daniel Benson about that initial period.

"It's good, exciting, and a lot of work. It's exciting to take on a new challenge after so many years, and I'm looking forward to starting to plan for next year and getting to work. For now, I’m mainly observing how everyone does their work. I’ve already received some feedback, but my goal is to contribute my own ideas and insights when we start planning for next year.”

The move to Lidl-Trek wasn't easy for Niermann. "I thought long and hard about whether to switch teams or stay with Visma—and the teams that preceded it—for the rest of my life. I had a really good relationship with everyone there, but I'm ready for a big challenge. It’s a fantastic team with huge ambitions, and I want to help build it further and ensure that we can achieve our goals.”

Lidl-Trek was one of the most active teams on the transfer market this summer. The team has already signed six riders from other teams, including Jordi Meeus (Red Bull), Jordan Jegat (TotalEnergies), and Georg Zimmermann (Lotto-Intermarché).

The biggest coup was Felix Gall. The Austrian finished second in the Giro d'Italia and third in the Vuelta a España.

While Niermann played an important role in recruitment at Visma | Lease a Bike, that is not (yet) the case at his new employer. “The selections were more or less already finalised before I signed. Not before I joined, but before I signed," said Niermann.

"That’s not my role in the project right now. That will come in the future. It was mainly Andy Schleck who was involved in that, and in the future we’ll do it together.”

With Gall, the team has signed one of the best climbers in the peloton. Lidl-Trek has been looking for a rider who can win a Grand Tour for quite some time.

Last year, the team signed Juan Ayuso and Derek Gee-West, while Mattias Skjelmose has been with the team for a while now. This stands in stark contrast to Visma | Lease a Bike, where nearly all the focus was on Jonas Vingegaard.

How will Niermann handle this situation? “I’m too far removed from it to say who has the most potential right now, but we have many riders who, at the very least, have what it takes to stand on the podium of a Grand Tour, and we’ll have to distribute them wisely for next season. But first, we’re going to evaluate the riders, and then we’ll make a plan.”

The German knows that the transition from a single team leader to multiple leaders is a difficult one. It will be a puzzle, but he’s ready for it. “Of course, it’s a challenge to come up with a plan where everyone can see their own goals. That’s a challenge, but it’s no secret that this was also a challenge at Visma.”