Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) will once again be the focus for Lidl-Trek at the Tour de France as the Dane eyes a stage win for the third year in succession.
The former World Champion was the headline name announced on the American squad’s injury and illness-affected roster, with a support squad built around delivering him either in sprint finishes or the breakaway.
Last year’s King of the Mountains from the Tour, Giulio Ciccone, is back on the start list after a tough bout with saddle sores at the start of the season.
The Italian will lead the climbing ambitions without their planned GC leader Tao Geoghegan Hart, who missed out on the roster due to a fractured rib and falling ill with COVID-19 last week.
Alongside leaders Pedersen and Ciccone, Jasper Stuyven, Carlos Verona, Ryan Gibbons, Tim Declercq, Julien Bernard and Toms Skujins will take the start on June 29 in Florence.
“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,” said directeur sportif Steven de Jongh in a team release.
“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."
Ciccone arrives at the Tour off the back of a strong return to form at the Dauphiné where he took second on stage 6 and third on stage 7 and would have finished higher than eighth overall if not for a poor time trial.
“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,” said De Jongh.
Gibbons will be last man in the lead-out for the Dane, fresh off the back of their impressive win on stage 1 of the Critérium du Dauphiné, but they will be without a key part of the train and close friend to Pedersen, Alex Kirsch.
“Jasper [Stuyven] also comes in to replace an injured Alex [Kirsch] but we know after his Giro d'Italia performance and then the way he races in Belgium after, that he will be a valuable asset,” said De Jongh
A Milan-San Remo winner in Stuyven is no bad replacement, however, even off the back of the Giro where he played a support role for Jonathan Milan. And the Belgian will hope that Pedersen can repeat Milan’s success for Trek in taking three stage wins and the points jersey in Italy.
Pedersen’s two previous wins at the Tour have been vastly different, one from a three-man breakaway sprint into Saint-Etienne ahead of Fred Wright (Bahrain Victorious) and the other an uphill sprint into Limoges ahead of Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck).
His versatility makes him a strong option for a number of stages and after winning a stage at his previous four Grand Tour appearances, that will be a record he wants to keep up.
Lidl-Trek 2024 Tour de France team
• Mads Pedersen
• Giulio Ciccone
• Jasper Stuyven
• Carlos Verona
• Ryan Gibbons
• Tim Declercq
• Julien Bernard
• Toms Skujins
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