INTERVIEW - Jake Stewart and Matis Louvel will try to guide Biniam Girmay into the Tour de France green jersey, and this is how

NSN Cycling Team have hosted their pre-Tour de France press conference this Wednesday afternoon in the heart of Barcelona. Biniam Girmay will lead the team's ambitions at the Grand Boucle with the aim of taking stage wins in the sprint stages and potentially the points classification. CyclingUptoDate has talked to two key men who will guide him: Jake Stewart and Matis Louvel.

The Swiss team had a major event with central figures of NSN and the team management present. The team is based in Catalunya and so although the license is Swiss, on paper there is no team who can consider this a 'home Grand Depart' any more. Andrés Iniesta was also present in the press conference, but the competitive focus was more guided towards Girmay, a former Tour de France green jersey; and sports director Sam Bewley who will be behind the wheel this month and has also competed at the Grand Boucle himself.

With Jasper Philipsen, Tim Merlier and Mads Pedersen present at the French race, there will certainly be a lot of competition for the 2024 winner. He shared however that he is a fan of the difficult route and the extreme heat in which the race will begin at, favouring his abilities as a rider who is much more than just a sprinter.

Following the press conference, we sat down with two of Girmay's key support riders. The team has been clear that its ambitions lay in the sprints and green jersey and its lineup does not hide it. Tom van Asbroeck, Matis Louvel and the Britons Lewis Askey and Jake Stewart will fill in the role.

An unmissable figure in the peloton. Out of every rider in the peloton, Jake Stewart certainly has the biggest amount of tattoos in the entire Tour de France peloton - he certainly agrees with that assessment. But there is serious business to get to for the Briton, who has been assigned as Girmay's right-hand man in the bunch sprints.

"Yeah, there's obviously pressure there, but it's a role that I've been doing, you know, like the last two tours that I've done with [Pascal] Ackermann. So yeah, obviously we come here with more realistic expectations, I'd say, you know, obviously Biniam's went through stages before in the green jersey. So we know what he's capable of".

At the recent Baloise Belgium Tour Stewart helped Girmay into the stage win on the opening stage, and so there will be no surprises heading into the Tour. "We know what we need to do to try and execute lead outs and yeah, there's always an element of pressure there, but it's a pressure that I always enjoy and rise to when I'm doing lead outs".

The Swiss team relies on the Briton almost just as much as its leader, as he has proven to be one of the best in his role: "Yeah, I think, you know, I've proven the last three years that I'm always there in the finals and in the big sprints, so I think Biniam has confidence in me and I have confidence in him and that's the best recipe for lead outs".

"Yeah, I think it's just a role that suits my characteristics well and my physiology obviously, you know, I raced at FDJ my first three years professional and was given a lot of opportunities to sprint and yeah, you know, I always came up short and I think in the end of the day it was just down to my physiology and my characteristics as a bike rider and that's what I wanted to do when I came to this team, I wanted to try and transform myself into a lead out rider and I've always said I want to be one of the best in the world at what I do and being a sprinter that wasn't really capable of doing that. But I certainly feel as a lead out rider that I've got the characteristics and the physiology to be able to execute that, so it's certainly why I'm striving to try and achieve that".

The team also has that versatility that other sprinters may not have, taking into consideration Girmay's abilities and also the team's full disposition towards his cause - Quick-Step, Alpecin and Decathlon will all have other leaders with clear ambitions. NSN may be able to take advantage of this.

"Yeah, certainly with Bini, you know, we know he climbs really well and he can perform on climbs as well, so certainly some of the harder sprints. I'd say more suited to him than the pure flat sprints, obviously Merlier and guys like this, a bit more suited to the real flat sprints, even though Bini showed himself on plenty of occasions in these sprints. so you know, I think we've come here with a really strong team that can perform across a number of different terrain and yeah, well certainly that's where I find it different when trying out the green jersey".

The race begins with a team time trial in Barcelona, and then features two hilltop finishes in Barcelona and Les Angles. The arrival into Foix on stage 4 also comes after several climb. Stewart believes that only on stage 5 will the team have their first serious opportunity.

"I mean if I look at the roadbook too far in advance I start to get a bit worried, so yeah, kind of just take it one day at a time [...] I think it's probably 50-50, it kind of depends on a guy's personality as well, you know, I know plenty of guys that know the roadbook inside out and what what stage is what but obviously, you know, from my point of view as more of a sprinter type and trying to, you know, execute lead outs, I know my first goal is stage five in power and, you know, from there we'll take it day by day but, you know, the race for me up until then is just about getting through safely and in as good a shape as possible and until stage five so, you know, that's my main focus and, yeah, take it day by day and check the roadbook when I need to.

A quality rouleur, Stewart can have multiple roles in the team and potentially even aim for a result himself. Whilst this may happen, he reiterates that the focus is elsewhere as a priority - but that if the opportunity arises, he will grab it.

"Obviously the priority here is for the sprints and the green jersey and that's the team's main focus but yeah, you know, if opportunities come up and I'm in good enough shape, obviously we'll give it a go in the days that are needed to help Bini in the search for the green jersey and stage classification but we've also got to be conscious that any days that, you know, you go in the breakaway or you go a bit further on a climb than you need to is also impacting the ability on the flat days and the sprint days. So yeah, we've certainly got to be smart about it, but yeah, if an opportunity is there, I'll try and make myself present".

Frenchman Matis Louvel is taking his third Tour de France, and will also be part of Girmay's leadout. "My job is more early on the train. Because for me, it's a bit more harder to fight and take a good position on a really final moment," he admitted to our microphone. "So it's more easy for me when the road was open and I just need to push and show my power. So yeah, I'm on the train, but a bit more early".

And at the Tour de France, Louvel faces the biggest of leadout competitors. The sprinter teams typically bring their best to the three-week racing, backing up also the strongest sprinters. "On the tour, it's also a bit different. I think it's more early because you have a lot of team and a lot of guys with big engines. So we try to find a good solution every day to use myself as best as possible".

Like Stewart, he does not rule out his own ambitions. That is also because NSN is not having GC focus in mind, and all riders might have freedom at a certain point of the race. "Yeah, maybe if we have some opportunity, I will take it. But principally, I'm here to work for the team and try to take a good sprint with Bini and put a good climber on the breakaway. If they need help, my job is more to help the team. But for sure, if I can take the opportunity, I will take it. It's a very special opportunity also to be here at the Tour with the team. It's always a big race and everybody wants to go into it".

The 26-year old continues to be amazed by the dimension of the Tour, and enjoys it from the inside. "It's very different compared to the other races. Everything is bigger and we have big transfers, big pressure for the team and everything. Everything is bigger, but it's nice. We like to have adrenaline and pressure in sport, so it's really nice to be there," he assures. "After a Tour, when you go on a smaller race, you feel a bit disappointed and you say, what is this race? But it's nice to be there".

If all goes well, the team will reach Paris with a stage win or perhaps even more. Stewart is looking forward to that day the most: "Paris. Yeah, it's always, you know, once we start the race it's, yeah, it's always full gas and, yeah, you're always waiting for the next rest day or waiting to be able to get to Paris and see your family and friends and all of that. "So, yeah, obviously we, you don't want to push your life away but Paris is always a nice day".

As one of the seven Britons at the start in Barcelona - part of the team that, together with Pinarello, has the most (two), Stewart has a very specific way in which he wants to celebrate the end of the race later this month: "Drink a few beers, I guess".