Lidl-Trek could shake up transfer market again — but this is why that probably won't happen

The arrival of Juan Ayuso was already a big fish that Lidl-Trek landed this winter, but the American-registered team may be planning something even bigger for next year, according to HLN. Although the German formation made a strong move on the transfer market with Remco Evenepoel, CEO Ralph Denk should worry about the possible departure of Florian Lipowitz. The question is: is that true?

The 25-year-old German showed enormous potential last season, by finishing second in Paris–Nice and third in the Dauphiné — only to claim third overall in his first Tour de France. As the “best of the rest,” behind Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard, Lipowitz confirmed his status as a top climbing talent.

Since joining Red Bull in 2023, he had already impressed with stage and overall wins in the Tour of Czechia (2023), a third place in the Tour de Romandie, overall victory in the Sibiu Cycling Tour — and a seventh place in the Vuelta a España (all in 2024), his first Grand Tour.

Lipowitz was already a figurehead at Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe — a role that might become even more pronounced given the team’s German licence. Still, he may get a choice to make, since his contract runs through 2026 and has not yet been extended officialy; that could opens the door for other WorldTour teams to strike after the coming season.

The link with Lidl-Trek is not far-fetched: Lidl is a German supermarket chain. And the team has enduring ambitions in general classification racing — ambitions that have not really taken off since Lidl became involved. Mattias Skjelmose and Giulio Ciccone made decent attempts, but for podium places in the Grand Tours, Lidl-Trek is aiming from 2026 onward at Juan Ayuso, and perhaps more…

According to reports, Lidl-Trek is not making any moves to bring Lipowitz onto the roster as early as 2026, but from 2027 he could join on a free transfer. Just like Red Bull–BORA–hansgrohe, money is flowing freely at Lidl-Trek, backed by major sponsors and a clear ambition to challenge the world’s top teams. HLN claims that a tailor-made programme might help keep Lipowitz on board in 2026.

New information published on Thursday by cycling journalist Daniel Benson suggests that the rumours surrounding Lipowitz may be premature. "Lipowitz signed a new long-term contract after finishing on the Tour de France podium. We learned this in the last 24 hours. We don’t know the length of the new deal, but my assumption is that the news about the rider’s contract extension will be announced soon."