Former head of nutrition Visma | Lease a Bike moves from Ajax to Lidl-Trek

After signing Grischa Niermann, Lidl-Trek has also strengthened its team with nutritionist Martijn Redegeld, who served as head of nutrition at Visma | Lease a Bike from 2019 through 2025. Lidl-Trek is therefore bringing in specialized expertise in nutrition from the Dutch squad.

The news that Niermann would leave the ‘killerbees’ came as a major surprise within Visma | Lease a Bike. Especially since Niermann had turned down an offer from Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe just two years ago. However, at Lidl-Trek the German gets a dream role: he will be responsible for the entire sporting policy of the men's WorldTeam.

In addition to Niermann, Lidl-Trek has attracted a second key figure who literally knows the inner workings of Visma | Lease a Bike. Martijn Redegeld was the man who revolutionized and optimized the nutrition strategy within the cycling team for five years, setting a new standard in cycling and elite sport. After spending a year and a half as head of elite sport at Ajax, he is now moving to the Schwarz Group. This company is making strides in several sports, with Lidl-Trek being a major project.

Within Visma | Lease a Bike, Redegeld ensured that nutrition was no longer an overlooked aspect of cycling. Together with the performance department and the The Athletes Foodcoach team, he elevated the nutrition strategy to an unprecedented professional level. According to team manager Richard Plugge, Redegeld truly "brought nutrition to the core of performance," making it now a fundamental and indispensable part of race strategy.

Redegeld worked closely with partners such as Amacx Sports Nutrition to scientifically optimize sports nutrition – including energy bars, gels, and recovery drinks – and precisely tailor it to the specific, individual needs of the riders.

He also helped change the team's nutrition culture. Whereas riders used to focus simply on weighing as little as possible, Redegeld implemented a targeted strategy for an optimal weight. As a result, riders now have maximum energy for top performance through accurate data and proper nutrition.