Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney swaps Canyon-SRAM for Lidl-Trek after nine years in major women's peloton transfer

Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney is officially headed to Lidl-Trek for 2027, ending a nine-year tenure with Canyon-SRAM, her new team confirmed on Tuesday.

Niewiadoma-Phinney is coming to the end of one of her best seasons yet, most recently finishing second in the women's road race at the World Championships, after a summer that saw her win atop Mont Ventoux, wear the yellow jersey and finish second overall at the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift.

Despite a highly successful stint with Canyon-SRAM that has seen her spend most of her career with the German team and win one Tour de France and take four more podiums, the Polish rider has long been understood to be moving for a new team for 2027, and that was confirmed on Tuesday.

She has initially signed a two-year contract with Lidl-Trek, where she will be their main GC leader as she continues her mission to win the Tour de France once again.

"I am super excited about the next two years," she said, with her contract taking her to the end of 2028, at which point she will be 34.

"I have spent many years on the same team and the decision to move forward and change the environment wasn't easy until I talked to Lidl-Trek. Instantly, I felt the team had a plan, trust and belief in me. I knew that when we joined forces we could aim for the highest dreams.

"I’m looking forward to working with people and professionals who have a fresh look at my abilities and at what we can achieve together, being guided from a different perspective and just new fresh air. I’m looking forward to learning from the team, what we can improve, how we can get faster and how we can raise our hands more often when crossing the finish line."

Lidl-Trek have already been busy on the transfer market this season, with Ally Wollaston, Arlenis Sierra and Julia Kopecký all on their way to the team in 2027, but Niewiadoma-Phinney is undoubtedly their headline signing of the season and a real coup in terms of securing a GC rider.

She will join the likes of Niamh Fisher-Black, Isabella Holmgren and Ricarda Bauernfeind as climbers who are already at the team, and it will be interesting to see how Lidl-Trek share out GC responsibilities in 2027.

"I’ve got so many goals I want to work hard to achieve in the next few years and I’m sure I will be able to make it happen with the team," she said. "While I don’t really know them yet, I feel full trust in Lidl-Trek. That’s what makes me so excited! I feel I made a really good decision to sign with Lidl-Trek.”

My view

Matilda Price

It's pretty unusual to see a rider have arguably the best year of her career, thriving at the team she's been with for nearly a decade, and still choose to leave. It's clear that Niewiadoma-Phinney is happy at Canyon, and they love her, so I believe her when she says it must have been a tough decision, but at a certain point, being happy and comfortable is no longer enough – you need to be pushed. And Lidl-Trek will certainly do that, with Niewiadoma-Phinney set to be out of her comfort zone in a well-resourced team, but also no longer the one big name on the team, which could go one of two ways.

At 32, the Polish rider certainly isn't old, but I do get the sense that she's coming into the part of her career where she knows there's a limited amount of time left to achieve what she wants to. She could probably stay at Canyon and keep podiuming the Tour, or she could take a leap to Lidl-Trek and see if she can turn second into the win. It's a risk and a gamble, and it might not pay off, but at this stage she has nothing to lose, so she had to do it.

One really important element will be whether her coach goes with her – she's been coached by Annemiek van Vleuten's former coach this year, clearly to great success, and I think when it comes to the Tour, her personal ability to keep improving is probably more important than what team she is in.

Lidl-Trek will only be the third team of Niewiadoma's career, having turned pro at 18 with Rabobank-Liv Giant, then moving to Canyon-SRAM in 2018.

For Lidl-Trek, who have been building their men's and women's programmes steadily since Lidl came on board as sponsors and owners, securing one of the very top GC riders on the market is a huge get.

"Bringing Kasia into Lidl-Trek is a significant moment for our women’s program,” women’s team manager Frank Schleck said.

"She is one of the most accomplished and respected riders of her generation, but what excites us most is the way she races. Kasia is courageous. She is aggressive. She is willing to take responsibility and make a race rather than simply wait for it to happen. That mentality fits perfectly with the identity we want for this team.

"Her arrival gives us another major leader for the biggest races on the calendar, but her impact will go far beyond results. Her experience, professionalism and competitive mentality can help raise the level of the entire group."

As for Canyon-SRAM, Niewiadoma-Phinney's departure will naturally leave a huge gap which the team will not be able to fill like-for-like, but they have high hopes for Antonia Niedermaier, who already announced herself as a possible successor with her fourth overall at the Tour this year. The team have only made one signing for 2027 so far, talented youngster Jasmin Liechti.

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