Published May 12, 2026 03:06AM
Lidl-Trek rolled out of the opening weekend of the Giro d’Italia without a stage win, without the pink jersey, and with its general classification leader Derek Gee-West battered and chasing time.
Hardly what the wannabe super team was envisioning for the start of the season’s first grand tour.
With German superstore’s big-money backing only raising expectations across 2026, this Giro is supposed to mark a turning point.
Instead, the team is facing even more pressure after a stop-start spring campaign marked by crashes, illness, and near-misses.
Sprinter ace Jonathan Milan came close to delivering the dream opening with a stage win and the pink jersey, but instead twice finished second to Paul Magnier.
As the race returns to Italy on Tuesday, he’s the team’s best bet to quickly change the narrative.
“I’m not demoralized by these results,” Milan told RAI. “I’m starting to feel a bit better day by day. We did what we wanted to do [Sunday], even if the result wasn’t what we wanted. I will try to win and enjoy myself.”
Despite the rocky start, Lidl-Trek is impatient to punch into the win column.
Things will get a lot better real fast if the team can knock down a win sooner than later.
Crash chaos hits GC hopes
Canadian GC hope Gee-West was caught up in the stage 2 crash chaos in Bulgaria that ripped through the peloton Saturday.
Banged up and bruised, it was not the start he was looking for following his high-profile split from former Israel Premier Tech to join Lidl-Trek after a protracted contract fight.
“I’m beaten up, but not so bad, considering how some of the guys ended up. I feel pretty lucky,” Gee-West said.
The 28-year-old fought back after the crash but eventually lost contact, conceding 1:11 and slipping to 48th overall heading into Tuesday’s stage 4.
The early setback mirrors last year’s Giro opening, when Gee-West also lost time in the “big start” in Albania before recovering deep into the race to finish fourth overall.
“It’s something I’m used to now, losing a minute right out of the gates,” he said with a wry laugh. “Obviously not the nicest way to do it, but my legs felt OK. I think at the end of the race, hopefully a minute doesn’t decide a spot one way or the other.”
Despite the crash, he remains in the race — something that cannot be said for the likes of Adam Yates and Jay Vine — and is banking on recovery before the first decisive mountain stage at Blockhaus later this week.
“I saw guys in front of me hitting the deck, then I hit the deck, and then I saw a lot of guys on the ground. It’s never nice to see,” Gee-West said. “I haven’t heard how everyone’s doing, but it was a pretty nasty one.”
Big budget, thin returns
Lidl-Trek comes into the 2026 Giro ambitious to prove it belongs in the top tier of the WorldTour.
Global super market chain Lidl bought controlling interest of the team’s license, and is pressing the gas for bigger and better results.
After a promising start with marquee signing Juan Ayuso, who beat back wonder boy Paul Seixas at the Volta ao Algarve in February, it’s been a stop-start season ever since.
Mads Pedersen crashed on his opening race day in February, fought back to race the cobbled classics, and stacked up an impressive string of top-10s, but fell short of landing a big win.
Mattias Skjelmose was solid all spring, but rising prospect Thibau Nys has yet to race on the road, nursing a knee injury.
There are now fresh question marks around Ayuso.
Since the Algarve, the Spanish rider failed to finish both Paris-Nice and Itzulia Basque Country, first with a crash and later with illness, and won’t race again until the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (former Dauphiné) in June.
That’s why there’s added pressure on the Giro squad for Lidl-Trek.
It’s currently ranked 10th in the WorldTour and also 10th in victories so far in 2026, not bad, but team brass wants more.
Milan has delivered the bulk of the results, accounting for six of the team’s eight wins so far in 2026, with Ayuso the other two.
With a rest day already in the books and no major climbs until later this week, Gee-West hopes he can recover and deliver on his end of the bargain. Giulio Ciccone, third in stage 2, is the team’s plan B.
“It’s not terrible timing,” Gee-West said of Tuesday’s expected bunch kick. “At least it gives me a bit of time to come around.”
Twice second to French ace Magnier, Milan is equally confident it’s only a matter of time before the wins start raining down.
After winning two stages and the green jersey in last year’s Tour de France and twice points winner at the Giro in 2023 and 2024, Milan is the top favored sprinter in this Giro.
Anything less than a few wins would be disappointing (again).