Co-founded by Andres Iniesta, linked to Johnny Depp & Martin Garrix – Who are NSN, the new backers of the former Israel - Premier Tech team?
Cycling
A quiet but transformative shift has swept across the WorldTour: the long-running Israel - Premier Tech project has been reborn as the NSN Cycling Team, marking the end of its Israeli-Canadian identity and the start of a Spanish-Swiss era built around one of the most unusual backers the peloton has ever seen.
Until this week, NSN – short for Never Say Never – was largely unknown in cycling circles. Now, with the team officially relaunched for 2026 and beyond, many fans are asking the same question: who exactly are the new owners, and why do they matter?
What they will discover is a company co-founded by Andres Iniesta, linked to Johnny Depp, and active across global football, major live events, music festivals, documentaries, podcasts, Asian Clasico tours, and even the pre-season tour of Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami.
This is not a typical cycling sponsor. And the project they are stepping into is about to look very different.
A global sport-and-entertainment giant born near Barcelona
NSN began life seven years ago, roughly 30 kilometres south of Barcelona, as a multi-branch sports and entertainment agency with immediate global reach thanks to the presence of its high-profile co-founder.
Iniesta’s involvement opened doors that most companies can only dream of. Through his network, NSN quickly expanded into Japan, Latin America and the United States, becoming a go-to organiser for major exhibition football fixtures.
Their portfolio includes:
- Clasico friendlies staged during Asian tours for Real Madrid and Barcelona
- Legend Games and a variety of promotional events
- Organisation of Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami pre-season fixtures across Peru, Honduras and Panama
Alongside football, NSN has built out a broad entertainment arm: documentaries, podcasts, music festivals (including Martin Garrix headlining in Tokyo), and even a commissioned art exhibition by Johnny Depp titled A Bunch of Stuff.
The company operates out of Spain, Japan, the UAE and Mexico, making it one of the most internationally distributed backers to ever enter professional cycling.
Why cycling, and why now?
Despite its broad reach, NSN’s experience in cycling was minimal until now. But the company has long made clear it sees cycling as a sport with enormous untapped global potential.
In NSN’s own words, as stated by company president and founder Joel Borras: “It is a huge challenge for NSN to immerse ourselves in the world of cycling, a sport with global reach. It represents a fantastic opportunity to explore new ways of communicating and connecting with a sport that aligns with the values of our company.”
This shift comes at a moment of major change for the former Israel - Premier Tech squad. Sylvan Adams has stepped back completely, while the team adopts a Swiss registration for the first time. A crucial piece of the puzzle is NSN’s strategic partnership with Stoneweg, a Geneva-based international investment platform providing the financial and structural foundation required for a successful WorldTour operation.
Stoneweg CEO Jaume Sabater set the tone for the project’s ambition: “Launching NSN Cycling Team is a proud moment for all of us… Cycling promotes values we firmly believe in, from ambition and resilience to teamwork and integrity. Our new WorldTour team aims to embody these principles and inspire the next generation.”
A new identity – and a marquee signing reportedly on the way
One of the biggest early storylines surrounding the rebrand is the expected arrival of Biniam Girmay, whose move to the project has been widely reported but not officially confirmed. Should the transfer be finalised, he would become the symbolic centrepiece of the NSN Cycling Team’s sporting reboot — a rider with genuine star power and the ability to elevate the project on the world stage.
The broader vision, however, is clearly shifting. A company that has built global football spectacles, stadium tours, festivals and international exhibitions now intends to apply that same entertainment-focused ambition to a WorldTour organisation.
A WorldTour team with entertainment DNA
In a peloton dominated by banks, telecoms companies, supermarkets and energy giants, NSN’s arrival is something entirely different: an entertainment powerhouse crossing over into top-level cycling, carrying with it the networks of Iniesta, Messi’s Inter Miami, Martin Garrix and Johnny Depp.
That alone marks the NSN Cycling Team as one of the most intriguing projects to watch in 2026.
Whether that entertainment expertise can lift a WorldTour squad to a bigger global stage is an open question – but the ambition is unmistakable, and the sport has rarely seen a transformation quite like this one.
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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