Lidl-Trek have announced some major changes in their team staffing roles, with Fränk Schleck taking over from Mick Rogers as the director of the women's team and Bernie Eisel moving from a sports director position to becoming the head of racing.
Lidl-Trek said in a press release that the changes reflect an increasingly ambitious squad, with their "bold goals for the coming years, including claiming yellow jerseys at both the Tour de France and Tour de France Femmes."
Apart from bringing in new directors in the Finance and Admin department and in Marketing, on the racing front, Fränk Schleck's new role comes after a short spell as sports director.
"His recent role as national coordinator with the Luxembourg women’s programme, which spanned coaching and new initiatives," the press release says, "and has given him a clear perspective on what the next generation of women’s racing demands, both tactically and in terms of rider support structures."
Regarding Mick Rogers' departure after two years running the women's team, the team said it was by mutual agreement, and they wished him well in his next projects.
A directeur sportif for the last four years, Eisel's position as Head of Racing is a new one inside the Lidl-Trek organigram and will see him oversee all the racing squads.
His new role reflects what Lidl-Trek said was their intention "to bring greater strategic depth to race planning and schedule management across the men’s, women’s and development teams."
Eisel and Frank Schleck's new jobs come in what has been recognised as a period of transition for the women's team over the last 18 months. The team has seen the departure or retirement of several of their major stars, including Elisa Longo Borghini, Lizzie Deignan and Ellen van Dijk.
Meanwhile, the men's squad has seen the arrival last winter of big-name signings like Derek Gee-West and Juan Ayuso, amid other changes, considerably boosting their options in the Grand Tours, and the Classics team has also undergone major overhauls.
