With the arrival of Derek Gee at Lidl-Trek , the German-licensed team has made another important move ahead of the 2026 season. The Canadian joins Juan Ayuso , who arrived after his experience at UAE; a combination that significantly strengthens Lidl-Trek for the major stage races .

A belief that is also echoed by Kim Andersen, sports director of the German team: “Now we have to work to find the right space for our riders,” Andersen said in an interview with Flette. “But if we are to make a step forward, we need to be well represented in all three Grand Tours, both for the stages and the general classification.  

If we look at the Giro d'Italia, up until now we've been counting on Jonathan Milan and Giulio Ciccone for the stages, but we didn't have a man for the general classification. Gee-West, however, has already shown that they can bring home excellent results in this area, even racing with little support from the team. There are some things we still need to fine-tune, but the goal is to be able to compete with the UAE. They have an overall captain (Tadej Pogačar – ed. ), but his teammates are the captains in other races. This is something we need to learn to do as well, to bring out the best in everyone on the team."

With Ayuso likely eyeing the Tour de France and Skjelmose the Vuelta, Derek Gee is likely to lead the Giro d'Italia : "In previous seasons, he's shown that he's a very good rider," Andersen said. "For the Tour, we've more or less already defined who will be there, and he's done very well at the Giro in the past. So, yes, I think Gee-West will most likely be at the start of the 2026 Giro d'Italia."