A bottle of our finest!
Introducing the eight Lidl-Trek riders heading to Florence for the Grand Depart of this year’s Tour de France on Saturday (29 June):
Julien Bernard (FRA, 32): fourth participation
Jasper Stuyven (BEL, 32): eighth participation
Giulio Ciccone (ITA, 29): fourth participation, winner of the polka dot jersey in 2023 🔴⚪️, yellow jersey for two stages in 2019 🟡
Tim Declercq (BEL, 35): fifth participation
Ryan Gibbons (RSA, 29): second participation
Mads Pedersen (DEN, 28): fifth participation, back-to-back stage wins in 2022 and 2023 🏆
Toms Skujins (LAT, 33): sixth participation
Carlos Verona (ESP, 31): fifth participation
What did our Sport Director, Steven de Jongh say about the rider roster?
Despite having to make some changes to our initial line-up due to illness and injury, I am incredibly confident in the strength of our Tour de France team. With Tao Geoghegan Hart unfortunately no longer able to race, we have added extra support for Mads [Pedersen] to go for stage wins but also put together a team that has a wealth of experience and a depth of talent in their own right. A group of riders that we know, and have seen on endless occasions both this year and in previous years, can work exceptionally well together. Giulio [Ciccone] has been right on track after coming back from his health issues at the start of the year and he was racing impressively at Critérium du Dauphiné, especially on those three final climbing stages. Jasper [Stuyven] also comes in to replace an injured Alex [Kirsch] but we know from his Giro d'Italia performance and then the way he raced in Belgium after, that he will be a valuable asset.
