Gee-West a surprise late addition to Lidl-Trek's deep Tour line-up

Derek Gee-West is a surprise inclusion in the Lidl-Trek team for the Tour de France, which will be built around the podium challenge of Juan Ayuso and the green jersey aspirations of Mads Pedersen.

It will be the second Tour appearance of Gee-West’s career after he placed a solid ninth overall in 2024. He finished fifth overall at last month’s Giro d’Italia, his first Grand Tour for Lidl-Trek after his fractious departure from Israel-Premier Tech last winter. 

Gee-West is a considerable addition to Ayuso’s supporting cast, which also includes Mattias Skjelmose, Carlos Verona and Mathias Vacek, who showcased his climbing credentials with an impressive third overall at the recent Tour de Suisse.

After going close on several occasions last year, Quinn Simmons will combine team duties with chasing an elusive Tour stage win. He warmed up for July with a stage win at the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes before he retained his US title.

The experienced Toms Skujiņš lines up for his eighth Tour appearance, while Pedersen returns to the race after a one-year hiatus. The Dane won Tour stages in 2022 and 2023, and he is now bidding to complete a full set of points classification wins on the Grand Tours. 

As reported last week, there is no place in the roster for Giulio Ciccone, who will instead focus on one-day racing in the latter part of the season after he claimed the king of the mountains title at the Giro. 

Søren Kragh Andersen, who was widely anticipated to line up in support of his compatriot Pedersen, also misses out on selection for the Tour.

Lidl-Trek arrive at the Tour amid a period of upheaval due to recent changes enacted by new owner Lidl. Longstanding general manager Luca Guercilena is set to leave at the end of July, and the Italian has been heavily linked with the vacant role of Giro d’Italia race director.

Andy Schleck has been promoted to the newly created position of CEO, while Grischa Niermann will join from Visma Lease a Bike from September 1 as chief sports officer.

The team made a considerable splash in the transfer market last winter by prising Ayuso away from UAE Team Emirates-XRG and signing Gee-West following the breakdown in his relationship with Israel-Premier Tech.

Ayuso will lead the team’s GC challenge at the Tour, and he warmed up for the race with second overall at the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. The performance augured well for the Spaniard after a crash at Paris-Nice and illness at Itzulia Basque Country tempered the early-season optimism that had followed his winning debut at the Volta ao Algarve.

The start of Pedersen’s season was compromised by the broken collarbone and wrist he suffered on the opening day of the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana, though he recovered in time to finish fourth at Milan-Sanremo, fifth at the Tour of Flanders and seventh at Paris-Roubaix.

Pedersen’s only stage race ahead of the Tour was the four-day Boucles de la Mayenne in late May, and he placed fifth in the Danish Championships on Sunday.