Lidl-Trek launches development team with eight riders

STIRLING SCOTLAND AUGUST 11 Bronze medalist Louis Leidert of Germany poses on the podium during the medal ceremony after the Men Junior Individual Time Trial a 228km race from Stirling to Stirling at the 96th UCI Cycling World Championships Glasgow 2023 Day 9 UCIWT on August 11 2023 in Stirling Scotland Photo by Dario BelingheriGetty Images
Bronze medalist Louis Leidert of Germany after the Men Junior Individual Time Trial at UCI Cycling World Championships Glasgow (Image credit: Dario Belingheri/Getty Images)

Lidl-Trek announced it has launched a development team to support their men’s WorldTour programme. Former 16-year road pro Markel Irizar, who has headed up Lidl-Trek's talent scouting operation since retiring as a rider in 2019, will manage the team.

Irizar will oversee recruiting and signing young riders, which will compete in 2024 as a Continental squad based out of Deinze, Belgium, where the Trek Factory Racing service course is located. Rider recruitment will also aim for young women's talent as part of Irizar’s responsibilities as a scout and assistant sports director. 

Jackie Tyson
North American Production editor

Jackie has been involved in professional sports for more than 30 years in news reporting, sports marketing and public relations. She founded Peloton Sports in 1998, a sports marketing and public relations agency, which managed projects for Tour de Georgia, Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah and USA Cycling. She also founded Bike Alpharetta Inc, a Georgia non-profit to promote safe cycling. She is proud to have worked in professional baseball for six years - from selling advertising to pulling the tarp for several minor league teams. She has climbed l'Alpe d'Huez three times (not fast). Her favorite road and gravel rides are around horse farms in north Georgia (USA) and around lavender fields in Provence (France), and some mtb rides in Park City, Utah (USA).