Liam O'Brien has been rewarded with a new contract after a very strong maiden season in 2024 for Lidl-Trek Future Racing team.
The Cork rider, who rode for the first time this year as an U23, has signed a new contract, with team management signing his praises as a "pure climber" we will see a lot more from next season.
O'Brien, who rode for his local club Fermoy CC until the start of this year, got a lot of hard racing into his legs this year at a much higher level in Europe.
One of the highlights was Flèche du Sud (2.2), where he was part of a dominant team performance, taking 5th in the TT, 3rd overall and winning the young rider classification.
He was also 3rd overall in Rás Tailteann, where he looked like one of the very strongest in the race despite it being his first Rás straight out of the juniors.
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And now Lidl Trek Future Racing has confirmed the 19-year-old among it's 15-strong rider roster for next season. The team has added three new riders, all of whom are hotly tipped for great things.
“Liam is one of our pure climbers and had a great first year. After some rest, I expect him to come back refreshed and ready for even bigger achievements next season," said Sebastian Andersen, the team's sports director.
Lidl Trek Future Racing's three new signings for 2025 are Spain's Hector Álvarez, Italy's Andrea Bessega and Britain's Sebastian Grindley.
Álvarez is perhaps the biggest stage race hopeful coming out of the junior ranks after winning four UCI-ranked stages races this year, including Nations Cup events.
Grindley was 2nd in the junior road race at the Worlds in Zurich last month, after showing real grunt when he was under pressure, while he also won Junior Tour of Wales this year.
