Grischa Niermann is leaving the top cycling team Visma led by two-time Tour winner Jonas Vingegaard and moving to the German racing team Lidl. His new team announced this on Tuesday evening.
Niermann will become head of sports at Lidl, as several media outlets had previously reported. The team also hired successful trainer Dan Lorang.
“After spending my entire career with the team now known as Team Visma-Lease a bike, I felt that the time was right for a new challenge. Moving to Lidl-Trek is a special opportunity for me personally, as it allows me to help shape one of the most ambitious projects in professional cycling, which also has close ties to my home country,” said Niermann.
The Lidl team has been operating with a German license since this season after the food discounter took over the majority.
Last year, according to “dpa” information, an attempt was made to poach Florian Lipowitz from the Red Bull team. However, the third in the Tour de France decided to stay with the Raubling team. Lipowitz’s contract runs until the end of 2027.
From cycling professional to successful sports director
Niermann will start his new job on September 1st. From now on, he will only work in the background at Visma. The 50-year-old most recently served as Head of Racing for the team.
As a professional, Niermann spent 15 years of his career with the Dutch team and then worked there in the youth ranks.
In 2017 he was promoted to the WorldTour team within the racing team and, as sporting director, led Vingegaard to two Tour victories.
Under his leadership, the team also won the Giro d’Italia with Vingegaard, Simon Yates and Primož Roglič as well as the Vuelta a España with Roglic, Vingegaard and Sepp Kuss.