Lefevere questions transfer spending after Guercilena, De Jongh, and Ciccone leave Lidl-Trek: 'That doesn’t add up for me'

Lidl-Trek’s transfer haul so far—with Jordi Meeus (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe), Felix Gall and Gregor Mühlberger (Decathlon CMA CGM), Georg Zimmermann (Lotto-Intermarché), Jordan Jegat (TotalEnergies), and Igor Arrieta (UAE Emirates-XRG), and the incoming transfers may not be over yet.

Since Andy Schleck took over as team director from Luca Guercilena, Lidl-Trek has been on the hunt for opportunities. Filippo Ganna is strongly linked to the team, despite having an ongoing contract with Netcompany INEOS.

Because at one point there were even more than the allowed thirty riders on the roster, the contract was actually terminated in consultation with the dissatisfied Giulio Ciccone.

In addition to a new director and a flood of newcomers, the departure of sports director Steven de Jongh was also notable. Like Guercilena, the Dutchman had been with the team for many years; the team is now embarking on a new path with a German license. The departure of Lucinda Brand, who was no longer allowed to race for Lidl-Trek, was also a sign of things to come.

This prompted Lefevere to devote his weekly column in Het Nieuwsblad to Lidl-Trek’s strategy—or perhaps the lack thereof. The Belgian, former CEO of Soudal Quick-Step, still doesn’t quite understand the decisions that have been made. “What’s the plan at Lidl-Trek? They’ve made a habit of signing riders who, in principle, aren’t on the market.”

Lefevere is referring to the arrivals of Juan Ayuso and Derek Gee-West in 2025, and now Ganna.

“Maybe there’s a master plan behind it, but I don’t see it. It feels like just piling up names without any real sporting logic. Building a team is like striking a delicate balance: to win often, you certainly need enough leaders, but at the same time, you also need enough support riders to do the dirty work.”

Signing riders with active contracts costs money—a lot of money. “I’m reading now that a number of support riders at Lidl-Trek are being offered sums of up to half a million euros to have their contracts terminated. Meanwhile, we’re adding riders like Jordi Meeus, Jordan Jegat, Felix Gall, and Igor Arrieta—all of whom have won races themselves this year. That balance doesn’t add up for me,” said PatLef.

The Belgian believes that sponsors have a major say in the matter, which sometimes leads to a lack of logic in transfers. “Zdenek Bakala, the owner of Soudal Quick-Step, was and is smart enough to leave recruitment to the people who know more about it. Unfortunately, I’ve noticed that not all teams are so lucky.”