Lidl-Trek launch women's development team with rising talents from USA and Great Britain among 10-rider roster

Lidl-Trek are adding a women's development squad to their line-up of teams for 2027, launching Lidl-Trek Future Racing Women with a 10-rider roster packed full of talent.

Lidl-Trek launched their men's under-23 squad in 2024, and will now join the small number of teams to run a women's development squad with their new project for 2027. It will be registered at Continental level and is not strictly an under-23 squad, with some older riders in the roster.

The team will comprise 10 riders from eight different countries, including the USA's Katherine Sarkisov, Great Britain's Kate Richardson, and Austria's Tabea Huys, who has already been riding a stagiaire for Lidl-Trek's Women's WorldTour team this autumn.

Also in the line-up are the Italian pair Chantal Pegolo and Matilde Rossignoli, Liv Wenzel, from Luxembourg, Spain's Ane Zubeldia – daughter of retired pro Haimar – Olympia Norrid-Mortensen from Denmark, Messane Bräutigam from Germany, and Sarkisov's compatriot Ella Sabo.

The launch of the squad marks "an exciting new chapter in the team’s commitment to nurturing the next generation of talent in women’s cycling", the team said.

"Our aim is to give young riders the time, support and opportunities they need to develop," women's team manager Fränk Schleck said.

"The step up to the WorldTour is becoming more demanding, so we want to create a clear pathway where riders can learn, make mistakes and grow without the immediate pressure to deliver results."

Whilst U23 feeder teams are commonplace amongst men's WorldTour squads, it is still only a minority of women's teams that run such a programme, in part down to the fact that there is no dedicated U23 racing circuit for women.

Lidl-Trek will join Canyon-SRAM, AG Insurance-Soudal, Liv AlUla Jayco and Fenix-Premier Tech in having a development arm in 2027, though the total number of such teams will stay the same after UAE Team L'IMAD shuttered their development team this year.

"Now is the right time because women's cycling is growing, and our investment needs to extend beyond the WorldTour team. We also have a responsibility to help develop the next generation," Schleck continued.

"When selecting the riders, we looked beyond the results. Potential, attitude, a willingness to learn and what each rider could bring to the group were all important. We also want to support riders across different disciplines, because there is more than one route to becoming a successful road rider."

Whilst racing will of course be important for the team, Schleck also underlined the team's commitment to preparing riders for life as a professional in general, too.

"The goal is to prepare them for the demands of professional cycling, both on and off the bike. Winning is part of that learning process, but success will also mean seeing riders gain confidence, take responsibility and eventually earn their place in the WorldTour," he said.

Sarkisov, Rossignoli and Huys are the names that readers are most likely to recognise. Rossignoli finished second in the women's junior road race at the World Championships in Montreal last month, whilst Sarkisov has been racing stage races in Europe this year with the US national team, taking seventh in the U23 women's race at Worlds.

Huys, who is one of the older riders on the team at 21, has already been racing in the pro peloton at Continental level this year, taking some promising results that earned her a stagiaire ride with Lidl-Trek and now a place on the development team.

Ella Sabo comes over from the USA after racing for Virginia's Blue Ridge-Twenty28, with whom she took a highly impressive third place at the Philadelphia Cycling Classic, right up there with WorldTour riders.

The team have already joined the wider team gathering in Bad Wimpfen, Germany this autumn, with their debut on the road set for 2027.

Lidl-Trek Future Racing Women for 2027

• Chantal Pegolo, 19, Italy
• Tabea Huys, 21, Austria
• Ane Zubeldia, 18, Spain
• Matilde Rossignoli, 18, Italy
• Kate Richardson, 24, Great Britain
• Olympia Norrid-Mortensen, 21, Denmark
• Liv Wenzel, 22, Luxembourg
• Messane Bräutigam, 20, Germany
• Katherine Sarkisov, 22, United States
• Ella Sabo, 20, United States

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