Lidl-Trek had an extraordinarily successful 2025. The American team was particularly dominant in the Grand Tours. Mads Pedersen won the points classification in both the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España, while Jonathan Milan took the green jersey home after the Tour de France. But what do the plans for the new cycling season look like?
The American team faces tough decisions this year with two sprint captains on the same squad. Jonathan Milan ultimately prepared for his very first Tour, while Pedersen had to 'settle' for team leadership in the Giro and Vuelta. However, this does not mean the Dane has abandoned his dream of ever winning the green jersey.
The former world champion will gladly line up again at the Tour de France in 2026, but Milan will undoubtedly also aim for a second consecutive green jersey. In other words: Lidl-Trek is dealing with a luxury problem for the upcoming Tour.
Jonathan Milan in the green points jersey - photo: Fotopersburo Cor Vos
Kim Andersen, a former rider and now sports director at the American team, shares this view. "It’s no secret that Mads really wants to win the green jersey," the Dane tells Feltet. "But he is also a few years older than Milan. They can’t race together if Mads is also targeting the green jersey."
Tour for Pedersen
Andersen prefers to send the two top sprinters together to the Tour de France but remains realistic. "On the flat sprint stages, Mads can be the best lead-out for Johnny, but then he will score little to no points himself. At the moment, it’s just not working."
According to sports director Andersen, the upcoming Tour is tailored to his younger countryman. "He can explode out of the blocks if he participates in the Tour. We've also already shown that we can deliver strong team time trials (referring to the opening stage in Barcelona, ed.). There are four pure sprint stages, but also two stages that could end in a breakaway. And I don’t see the last stage finishing in a sprint."
| Date | Stage | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 04-07 | 1 |  Barcelona | Barcelona |
| 05-07 | 2 | Tarragona | Barcelona |
| 06-07 | 3 | Granollers |  Les Angles |
| 07-07 | 4 | Carcassonne | Foix |
| 08-07 | 5 | Lannemezan | Pau |
| 09-07 | 6 | Pau | Gavarnie-Gèdre |
| 10-07 | 7 | Hagetmau | Bordeaux |
| 11-07 | 8 | Périgueux | Bergerac |
| 12-07 | 9 | Malemort | Ussel |
| 13-07 | 10 | Aurillac | Le Lioran |
| 15-07 | 11 | Vichy | Nevers |
| 16-07 | 12 | Circuit Nevers Magny-Cours | Châlon-sur-Saône |
| 17-07 | 13 | Dole | Belfort |
| 18-07 | 14 | Mulhouse | Le Markstein |
| 19-07 | 15 | Champagnole | Plateau de Solaison |
| 21-07 | 16 | Évian-les-Bains | Thonon-les-Bains |
| 22-07 | 17 | Chambéry | Voiron |
| 23-07 | 18 | Voiron | Orcières-Merlette |
| 24-07 | 19 | Gap | L'Alpe-d'Huez |
| 25-07 | 20 | Bourg-d'Oisans | L'Alpe-d'Huez |
| 26-07 | 21 | Thorny | Paris |
