Lidl-Trek's spring squad even stronger, making decisions tougher: "But Pogacar will aim to repeat Van der Poel’s trick"

Last season, Lidl-Trek already seemed on its way to becoming the classic team. With Mads Pedersen, Jasper Stuyven, Toms Skujins, Jonathan Milan, and Alex Kirsch, among others, it caused havoc in the spring races, which paid off in Gent-Wevelgem and the E3 Saxo Classic, among others. Ultimately, the team suffered from its involvement in the heavy crash in Dwars door Vlaanderen, but it shows what we can expect from Lidl-Trek in the coming weeks and months.

For 2025, the team has grown even stronger with the arrival of Soren Kragh Andersen from Alpecin-Deceuninck and the progression of guys like Mathias Vacek. "And there are still guys like Daan Hoole, Tim Declercq, and Edward Theuns to come. And Tim Torn Teutenberg, not to mention. We have a broad selection," De Jongh noted. In the non-WorldTour races, it may additionally deploy Jakob Soderqvist, the young Swedish rider who made a powerful impression in Valencia. "Fortunately, it is difficult to pick because we have some options. We have grown as a team in recent years."

"We informed the guys early about which races they are doing and which races they are on standby and why," points out the Dutch team leader. "So we did select them based on quality and what suits them best. In the races that fit them less then, they get the time to rest and prepare for the races that suit them best."

In the major classics, it is slightly different: the team starts with the strongest available selection at that time. "For Flanders and Roubaix, we have them all on it, and then we end up riding with the strongest team. We also saw last year that we can make a selection, but if you have one crash, you can lose two riders. So everyone gets the chance to prove themselves until Flanders."

"We were able to play off that strength across the board well in Gent-Wevelgem last year, but then we stayed behind in the approach to the Kanarieberg. That was unfortunate, but now we are a year later with a stronger selection," said De Jongh, who realizes that the competition is not sitting still either. "We don't have that one top freak who rides away on the Kwaremont. We can't expect that from Mads either. If Tadej Pogacar has a good day, I honestly think no one can follow him. And that's tricky."

The name has been mentioned: Pogacar stayed away from the cobbled classics last year but is now returning. "With extra pressure," says De Jongh. "We shouldn't ride at the front," he says firmly. "But how to beat him? We have to ride along, but if we are not with him? Too bad, but then it's not up to us because we don't have the top favorite. And I think Pogacar, in that world champion's jersey, is only too happy to repeat Mathieu van der Poel's trick. And there will be a lot of pressure on that."

De Jongh already faced some tough decisions before the Giro and Tour. For example, Mattias Skjelmose was sent to the Tour despite a desire to do the Giro, and a choice had to be made between Pedersen and Milan for the Tour de France, with a preference for the Italian. Then there is the Thibau Nys dossier, where Lidl-Trek seeks balance with the others for the three-week stage races.

"The choices for the grand tours were also difficult. Of course, there are also wishes from sponsors. Mattias would very much like to go to the Giro, but then the Tour route is announced, and we both analyzed that very well," explained the Dutchman. "So then you look at what is best for whom and how we have the best chance. It was obvious that Skjelmose easily held his own in the wind and was the best man for the Tour."

However, he then had to try to change a rider's mind. "I think Mattias won white in the Vuelta, and I started thinking, maybe I can repeat that stunt in the Giro too. They are difficult choices, similar to the ones we had to make for the sprinters."

De Jongh explains it in more detail. "We had to disappoint Mads. Mads and Johnny wanted to ride the Tour because it was the biggest race for sprinters. Those are not easy conversations, but they accept it. They also see the arrivals and opportunities, so it doesn't linger on them," said Lidl-Trek's sports director.

"Deciding this is not nice, but he understands it. On the other hand, it can also offer opportunities. Mads is already talking about the pink jersey, and you name it, he is full of motivation. That's how it works: they all want to achieve a goal. Mads also shouts now: I'll show what I can do. At that point, they are shitty conversations, but they can also get motivation out of it."

Also, Nys would like to go on the tour but is unsure about participating. "If it's up to me, Nys will go to the Tour. But more names are still on the table," explains De Jongh. "We now have six men determined, with Jonny and his train, Skjelmose then, and a puller. And then many names can ride and have a chance. Think Toms Skujins, Tao Geoghegan Hart, Quinn Simmons, Otto Vergaerde, for example."

Let us now move to some other team members; the three Dutch riders at Lidl-Trek have not been mentioned much in the article: Daan Hoole, Bauke Mollema, and Sam Oomen. "Daan does have his place in the classics and has also made good progress. Bauke had a difficult year but left for the Tour Down Under full of motivation after a good winter. We know what Bauke can do; we saw that last year at the World Championships. If he is back at his level, he will make selections. If he is not, he will not be selected," De Jongh is honest.

"He can still do it. Whether that's possible for a whole season, I don't know. But he was working hard to make the Tour selection, and then he got sick in Switzerland. He couldn't perform there, so it depends on things like that."

"For Sam, the same applies. We saw him in the Vuelta and had a lot of fun, but he took a hit after his crash in Italy. He had a good winter but is behind because of that crash. Now he is back in shape, but he will do altitude training first and then start later. With Figueira and Algarve," De Jongh said.

Meanwhile, the next generation already presents itself from the Lidl-Trek Future Racing project. With Albert Withen Philipsen and Tim Torn Teutenberg, two top talents joined the team, while it then lost U23 world champion Nikias Behrens to Visma | Lease a Bike. "You know that with a development team. It's unfortunate, but it is what it is. Tim Torn is also a guy who will compete for his prizes. He has much experience from the track, so he can come in and position himself well."

So Soderqvist made a good impression in Valencia and 18-year-old Withen Philipsen in Australia. "It's not a question mark because we know what he can produce. But it's also quite an adjustment: he comes from the juniors to the WorldTour. That's not a simple transition. There used to be no such pressure on the juniors, but the pressure is also increasing with professionalization. As a team leader, you cannot do much about that except guide that boy. As a team, we have a lot of experience in that, so in that respect, we are always there for him."

So, the young Dane is given time, but who does De Jongh expect even more from 2025? "Vacek has taken a step forward, and Simmons also rode a good final stretch. But that applies to the whole group: we see them all improving compared to last year. This is also because the arrival of Lidl is paying off more. The coaching, chefs, dieticians ... and so on." Strength across the board, you know?