Less than a week after taking silver at the Montréal Worlds, Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney announced that she is leaving Canyon-SRAM to join Lidl Trek.

She spent nine years at Canyon-SRAM, won a brilliant Tour de France Femmes win in 2024, defended by four seconds on Alpe d’Huez in one of the great modern GC finales. She also won the 2018 Trofeo Alfredo Binda, the 2019 Amstel Gold Race, La Flèche Wallonne in 2024, the 2023 UCI Gravel World Championships, and the Mont Ventoux stage of this year’s Tour de France Femmes.. And now, at 32, a two-year deal with Lidl-Trek through 2028 — confirmed, fittingly, on her birthday.

This wasn’t an easy decision: “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.”

Looks like she will be GC leader in the big tours and protected in the Classics. She must also be thinking ahead to next year’s Worlds – if the new team and its support system can get her stronger and faster, it might mean she’s on the top step in Haute Savoie.

Team boss Fränk Schleck knows the rider he is getting. “Kasia is courageous, she is aggressive. She is willing to take responsibility and make a race rather than simply wait for it to happen. Her experience, professionalism, and competitive mentality can help raise the level of the entire group.”

Which, if you watched Montréal, is putting it mildly — the same aggression that’s made her the most consistent ;best of the rest’ behind Vollering for several seasons running.

She joins a Lidl-Trek roster already stacked with Elisa Balsamo, Niamh Fisher-Black, and her old WM3 teammate Riejanne Markus — reunited a decade on. This is Lidl-Trek’s 5th signing in as many months – the others are:

Kata Blanka Vas: The multi-discipline Hungarian star signed after negotiating an early exit from Team SD Worx-Protime. The Giro and Tour stage winner joined Lidl-Trek through 2028 to bolster their Classics campaign and cyclocross setup.

Ally Wollaston: The quick-finishing New Zealand sprinter and Olympic medalist signed a multi-year deal through 2029, providing the team with elite finishing power.

Arlenis Sierra: The experienced Cuban all-rounder moved over from Movistar Team to add leadership, depth, and sprint leadout capabilities.

Julia Kopecký: The talented young Czech rider signed a long-term contract through 2028 as part of the team’s commitment to developing top future talent.

The real question now isn’t whether Niewiadoma-Phinney can win big races. She’s proven that. It’s whether a fresh environment, at 32, gets her the one prize that’s kept slipping through her fingers by inches — a rainbow jersey – plus another Classic or three wouldn’t be bad. And then there’s the Tour, another win there would really cement her legacy.