One season before her current contract was due to expire at the end of 2027, Lidl-Trek and Italian rider Gaia Realini have mutually agreed to part ways at the end of 2026, the German team announced on Monday.
"After four years together - four precious years that have contributed so much to my personal growth and brought so many great emotions - we have decided that the time has come to go our separate ways," said Realini in the announcement.
"Thank you, Lidl-Trek, for everything we have shared and experienced together."
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Lidl-Trek signed the diminutive climber in 2023, after she had impressed racing for Continental team Isolmant-Premac-Vittoria, notably at the Giro d'Italia Women. She found immediate success in her first race, taking second on the queen stage and overall at the UAE Tour Women behind teammate at the time and compatriot Elisa Longo Borghini.
From there, Realini only kicked on to become one of the top climbers in the world, taking third at La Flèche Wallonne, seventh at Liège-Bastogne-Liège, and winning Trofeo Oro in Euro in her first spring as a professional.
As the summer of stage racing rolled around, Realini proved to be a revelation, finishing third overall and winning a stage at La Vuelta a Femenina, then matching that GC result of third at the Giro d'Italia Women and Tour de l'Avenir.
So it came as no surprise that in February of 2024, Lidl-Trek extended her contract until the end of 2027, locking in the future of the then 22-year-old.
This decision was vindicated by her highlight result of fifth overall at her maiden Tour de France Femmes, which she backed up with third on GC at the Tour de Romandie; by this point, Realini was an established GC leader, built for the most vicious, steep climbs.
However, a fractured elbow in training ruined her start to the 2025 season, and she's struggled to return to her previous best ever since, failing to finish in the top 15 of any race she started in her third season on Lidl-Trek.
While still not at her 2023-2024 peak level, Realini has started to find better results in this ongoing season, taking eighth and 12th on the two key climbing stages at the Vuelta, and finishing 10th overall at the Faun Tour Femmes. Her most recent result was 14th at the Giro dell'Emilia Donne, with Tre Valli Varesine the only remaining race on her confirmed schedule for 2026.
Realini is the third confirmed Lidl-Trek women's departure for 2027, with Felicity Wilson-Haffenden joining Fenix-Premier Tech, Shirin van Anrooij heading for Canyon-SRAM, and Amanda Spratt retiring.
Their roster is up to 18 confirmed riders for the 2027 season, including new arrivals Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney, Blanka Vas, Ally Wollaston, Arlenis Sierra, and Julia Kopecký.
Whether Realini will continue in 2027, and where that may be, is yet to be confirmed.
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