BERGAMO — Giulio Ciccone will depart Lidl-Trek at the end of the 2026 season after reaching a mutual agreement to part ways three years before the expiration of his contract, which had been due to run until 2029. The Italian will ride his final race for the German WorldTour team this Saturday at Il Lombardia, where he will lead the team alongside Quinn Simmons and Juan Ayuso.
Lidl-Trek confirmed the early separation in a short statement released on Friday. "After eight seasons together, the Team and Giulio have reached the mutual decision to part ways, which means Il Lombardia will be the Italian’s final race in Lidl-Trek colours," the statement read. "We want to thank Giulio for all he has done for the team and wish him all the best for the future."
Ciccone joined the team from Bardiani in 2019 and has spent eight seasons in Trek colours, claiming 10 victories. During that spell he won two stages of the Giro d’Italia, the Clásica San Sebastián and five WorldTour races in total, and wore both the yellow jersey at the Tour de France and the pink jersey at the Giro as race leader.
Tom Pidcock’s Swiss team Pinarello Q36.5 has widely been reported as Ciccone’s expected new destination, with La Gazzetta dello Sport and Het Laatste Nieuws both reporting in recent weeks that a deal was already done with only official confirmation missing. More to follow as Lidl-Trek prepare for the final Monument of the season.