Guercilena set for major RCS Sport role after Lidl-Trek exit

Luca Guercilena is set for a major new role at RCS Sport following his departure from Lidl-Trek, according to reports from Daniel Benson.

It was confirmed at the start of June that Guercilena would vacate his role as general manager of Lidl-Trek after the 2026 Tour de France, with Andy Schleck stepping up as CEO and Grischa Niermann moving across from Visma | Lease a Bike to become chief sporting officer. 

Guercilena has been with the now German-registered team since its inception, becoming sports director in 2011. Lidl-Trek confirmed that he would “remain fully active in his role through the 2026 Tour de France, ensuring a smooth handover.”

Prior to Guercilena's departure being formally confirmed, Domestique understood that the Italian was high on RCS Sport’s shortlist of candidates to take over the vacant position of Giro d'Italia race director. 

While Benson reported that Guercilena’s exact role at RCS Sport remains unclear, he confirmed that the Italian will not become Giro d’Italia race director, a position last held by Mauro Vegni, who retired in February 2026.

During the Giro, Domestique spoke to RCS Sport CEO Paolo Bellino about the future of the vacant Giro race director position, with the Italian outlining a potential shift away from the traditional structure of having a central figure. 

“Cycling has changed a lot,” said Bellino. “The point of reference used to be a very important figure, but now the organisation is much broader and larger, and there are still points of reference there.”

“I don’t think we’ll be appointing a traditional race director because I don’t think that model works anymore. We’ll definitely be changing the organisational structure.”