Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney will join Lidl-Trek in 2027 on a contract through the end of 2028, the team announced on Tuesday.
The news came on her birthday, three days after she took silver behind Demi Vollering (FDJ United-Suez) in the women’s elite road race at the World Championships in Montréal. Lidl-Trek’s birthday post welcomed her to her “new Lidl-Trek family” and celebrated the medal.
Niewiadoma-Phinney attacked with about four kilometres remaining in Saturday’s 180.1km race, then opened the sprint 200 metres from the line. Vollering beat her to the finish, with both riders credited with the same time.
The transfer will end nine seasons with CANYON//SRAM, which Niewiadoma-Phinney joined in 2018. She extended her contract through 2026 in 2024, the same year she won the Tour de France Femmes. She finished second overall in the 2026 edition after winning a stage on Mont Ventoux.
Niewiadoma-Phinney said her discussions with Lidl-Trek persuaded her to make the move. “I am super excited about the next two years. 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,” she said.
“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,” Niewiadoma-Phinney said.
Lidl-Trek plans to pursue victories in the Classics and Grand Tours while developing future leaders in its women’s squad. Fränk Schleck, the women’s team manager, said Niewiadoma-Phinney would be one of its leaders: “Her arrival gives us another major leader for the biggest races on the calendar, but her impact will go far beyond results.”
Schleck said the team wants to build around the goals she still hopes to achieve. “We want to understand what Kasia still wants to achieve and create the environment around her to go after those ambitions together.”
Her new teammates will include Riejanne Markus (Lidl-Trek), who joined the squad in 2025. “I’m also stoked to be reunited with Riejanne Markus after ten years since we were teammates on WM3!” Niewiadoma-Phinney said.
