The NSN cycling team, part of the World Tour license of the former Israeli Premier Tech, was presented this month in Barcelona, at an event attended by former footballer Andrés Iniesta, who will share ownership of the team with the Catalan-Swiss investment fund Stoneweg. “Cycling has always accompanied me in my life, more than ever in football. It has had a very big link with cycling. For NSN (Iniesta’s entertainment and sports marketing company), this is an important step,” declared the ex-Spanish international in a countless press channel.
The city’s mayor, Jaume Collboni, recalled that in 2026, with the birth of the aforementioned cycling team and the release of the “Grand Départ” of the 2026 Tour, Barcelona will become “the global epicenter of cycling.” And he will do it, as Collboni himself requested, without anyone wearing the Israeli name on the cycle path, as happened last year.
“We thank Andrés Iniesta because he has always carried the image of Barcelona around the world and has always contributed to the international projection of the city,” he commented. Collboni considers that the combination of Barcelona and cycling is “a winning bet” and recalled that 50 cycling clubs live in the Catalan capital and that every day seven citizens practice a sport.
“We want to enjoy this new stage and know everything that is behind the great work that is being done in the team, on the field in the World Tour training, as well as in the camp. The team is spectacular,” insisted Iniesta.
The team, which will have Scott as bicycle supplier instead of Factor, will have the Eritrean Biniam Girmay, one of the new stars of world cycling, as leader, in a team with a Spaniard: the young Valencian Pau Martí.
The other reversal member of the team is fund manager Stoneweg. Its general director, Jaume Sabater, supported the joint work carried out with NSN which led them to engage in an “innovative” way in new projects.
“Our presence is in Switzerland, our soul in Barcelona,” recalled Sabater, who described the project as “unique” and which was carried out in a “totally unexpected” way.
The sporting director will be the Finn Kjell Carlstrom, who did not wish to give many details about the new project. “This is the start of a new era for the team. We have a powerful team and many possibilities await us. In the coming weeks we will inform you of its final composition,” he commented. During the event it was also possible to discover the team’s new jersey, a design inspired by Barcelona, with particular geometries with sky blue, orange and black details.
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