Teams & Riders NSN Cycling

[Leadbelly]

It remains to be seen whether NSN will move to be more of a Spanish/ Spanish speaking team or still retain most of their anglophone riders.

I don't see why they might not have one or two more Spaniards if the right rider wants to sign, but they're just as likely to sign one or two Italians or one or two Australians etc.

Arrieta would be an obvious target. Obvious for six teams unfortunately though according to recent reports, so that would appear unlikely.

Beloki is likely to extend.

Maybe Castellon who was linked with Jayco last winter. Not too many after that. At the end of '25 I might have said De la Calle, but he's not had a great start to the season.

 

[Leadbelly]

Well since today's stage at the TotA isn't too interesting so far, let's have a look at a few other transfer targets from the usual countries.

Australia: Hindley and O'Connor

I think these should be the big GC targets. A fair chance both are on their way out of their current teams and both not having great seasons so far. Hindley has been linked with Visma and he'd probably end up with better results there, but with less money (didn't they pay Yates ~750k?). BOC is a bit older, but is a better GT stage hunter.

New Zealand: Fisher-Black

Poor season so far. Only 24 but has been round the block with Visma, UAE and now Redbull. Probably more likely to move to a mid-level WT team unless his season continues in the same vein.

Great Britain: Watson(?), Koerdt and Poole

Watson doesn't seem very likely unless the new sponsors bring in a big name and Sam fancies a link-up with his old Groupama pals. We all know Picnic are in trouble. Koerdt is one bright spot. No big results, but consistent and could be a good dom. Poole could be "free" if Picnic don't get the rest of their WT licence duration. Do we want a rider with more medical question marks though?

US: August

Still only 20. Starting to get a few more results. Not sure what Benson had to say about him in his American transfer update.

Italy: Bagioli and Milesi

He's not really done it at Lidl, Bagioli, and surely they'll be looking at an upgrade themselves. Milesi was a bit of a headless chicken at times at the beginning of his time with Movistar. Seems to have turned a corner and could be a strong addition.

Belgium: Vansevenant

The LVE rumours I can't see happening. Mauri was listed as being not retained by Soudal. Maybe they could change their minds after his recent results, but hopefully we're after him too.

That's a few guesses anyway. No doubt though that a lot of teams will all be after the same riders, so you may have to take what's left over after the big teams have their choice.

 

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Lutsenko is out of Romandie with illness. Not that it will make much of a difference with Pogacar likely to win all stages anyway, but some sign of things getting better wouldn't have hurt.

 

[Ilmaestro99]

Lutsenko is out of Romandie with illness. Not that it will make much of a difference with Pogacar likely to win all stages anyway, but some sign of things getting better wouldn't have hurt.

Fortunately the team has George bennett, who has shown that there is no race that he won't do in 2026

 

[Leadbelly]

The team will be lucky to still be in the top-18 of the 2026-28 "league" after this week. The missing injured riders combined with the lack of depth in some areas is starting to show.

Strong was fifth or sixth in the sprint from the peloton in Frankfurt which would have been okay, but unfortunately the break wasn't caught in time and he actually finished ten spots lower.

Bennett did his thing in Romandie ie. looked okay for a couple of days and then dropped some places on the last two stages.

Verbrugghe with a strong second today for the devo team was the one bright spot. The chances of him moving up to pro level next year, whether with the main team or elsewhere, are looking good.

 

[Roku]

@Leadbelly Just scrolling through the latest posts:

Ghirmay (and his fans) is a frustrating guy. He had an excellent 2022 cobbled season - in which, incidentally, the whole Wanty was flying. Other than that, he is an average rider who might get placings on semiclassics, but don't expect him to get anything relevant on the big races.

Hirt had some decent performances on the high mountains this season. He is a diesel rider who is better on Grand Tours and multi-mountain hard stages. I think he will be fine in Il Giro, his dream race. Hopefully he gets his personal chance in a couple of breaks. Expect him to be good on the Passo Giau stage.

 

[Leadbelly]

Hirt had some decent performances on the high mountains this season. He is a diesel rider who is better on Grand Tours and multi-mountain hard stages. I think he will be fine in Il Giro, his dream race. Hopefully he gets his personal chance in a couple of breaks. Expect him to be good on the Passo Giau stage.

I'll admit I actually haven't seen Hirt climbing this year at either UAE or Catalunya as my viewing days are limited, so it's good to know you think he's looked decent, even if the actual results aren't great.

Anyway the team thinks he "is coming in well prepared and expect him to fight for a top ten finish again". There have been quite a few GC withdrawals pre-race, so there is scope for an unheralded top-ten (or just outside).

https://twitter.com/x/status/2051210268189786487

View: https://x.com/NSNCyclingTeam/status/2051210268189786487


Elsewhere in the selection it's mainly about sprints with Vernon or slightly reduced/uphill ones for Strong. In my ideal world there would be another guy for the mountains/breaks, but those are scarce in the team currently. Pinarello is going into the race with little pressure from the team. He didn't make it out of week one last year, so three weeks is still virgin territory for him and I fear he will fade a bit come the end of the race.

Fingers crossed!

 

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quite a good team for all kind of sprint arrivals, but problem is that Milan usually comes well prepared for the flat ones, and on the harder stages, Strong will need to rely on other teams to keep things together.

Not really sure it makes sense to go for GC with Hirt. The gaps will likely be huge anyway, so freedom won't be an issue, but usually he is better when he can focus on single days.

 

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Verbrugghe with a strong second today for the devo team was the one bright spot. The chances of him moving up to pro level next year, whether with the main team or elsewhere, are looking good.

he was interviewed after the race, and said that he definitely aims to step up to pro level for 2027, but hasn't signed anywhere yet:

Jens Verbrugghe, deuxième avec les pros et derrière De Lie à la Famenne Ardenne Classic, a des arguments pour "décrocher un contrat"

Le leader de notre classement de régularité a confirmé son gros début de saison avec son podium à Marche-en-Famenne.

www.dhnet.be

Interesting that he sees himself as Wallonian, by the way. You wouldn't really expect it when reading the name.

 

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There's an interview with Hirt in Czech press today. He said aiming for GC was his own idea, not the team's one. As usual, he prepared alone in Colombia at >2000m altitude for three weks, living at 2500m, and his shape is good to go for a top 10 now. He sees Pinarello more as someone who is best at <20min climbs, while Hirt himself of course prefers the longer, high altitude ones.

 

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The usual Grand Tour diary is also up again at The Independent, this time featuring Ryan Mullen, by the look of it.

The pre-race one doesn't have too much interest, but it includes a bit about the plans for the sprint train:

“A stage win is the goal. We’ll take one, if it comes, but the goal is to try and win as much as we can – the same as any other team. Ethan is looking strong at the moment. He’s won four races already this year so it’s just a case of not getting too involved in what other people are doing and having our own plan. It’s a case of ‘grip it and rip it’. It doesn’t matter what anyone else does, that’s all just noise. We’ve a really good team here and I’m hoping I can be useful for the boys in the finals.” [...]

“My ideal last kilometre is if I hit the front with a ‘K’ to go, take Jake (Stewart) to 500m, he opens up and launches his sprint with Ethan in the wheel and drops Ethan off at 200m to go. So I do a 500m effort, about 25 seconds, Jake does 20 seconds and Ethan does the last 15. Simple as that. You just have to dodge the other hundred guys trying to do the same.”

https://archive.is/HUKWO

 

[Leadbelly]

The usual Grand Tour diary is also up again at The Independent, this time featuring Ryan Mullen, by the look of it.

This bit did make me laugh a bit "Tadej Pogacar – he’s not here, thank ***".

 

[Ilmaestro99]

There's an interview with Hirt in Czech press today. He said aiming for GC was his own idea, not the team's one. As usual, he prepared alone in Colombia at >2000m altitude for three weks, living at 2500m, and his shape is good to go for a top 10 now. He sees Pinarello more as someone who is best at <20min climbs, while Hirt himself of course prefers the longer, high altitude ones.

Contract year. No results for 2 years but I expect him to pull a decent level out of the bag as he often does when he is on the market

 

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Kretschy steps up to WT with immediate effect

Moritz Kretschy promoted to NSN Cycling Team - NSN Cycling Team

NSN Cycling Team is pleased to announce that Moritz Kretschy will step up from the NSN Development Team to the NSN Cycling Team with immediate effect, signing with the team through the end of the 2028 season. The promotion marks the next step in Kretschy’s progression within the NSN structure...

nsncyclingteam.com

 

[Leadbelly]

A so-so start to the Giro.

Two chaotic big bunch sprints so far and tbh getting a podium from one of them is not too shabby. The main disappointment was Strong not making the front group on either stages 2 or 4. Was he caught up in the crashes on stage 2? I dunno, but on four when you see Aular and Turner there....

Pinarello made up for Strong's absence on yesterday's stage somewhat, and with him losing a packet today, he'll now have free rein to chase wins from the break.

Hirt with no time losses so far.

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The rumour seems to be that Vernon is off to Jayco at the end of the season. Shame. I guess he wants to ride the Tour and not be second fiddle. On the other hand Strong is rumoured to extend. Do we need another sprinter then or is Girmay/Kogut/Hof and the punchier Strong/Askey/Gilmore trio enough?

Ciro says Buitrago could be on his way to the team and he's usually right more often than not. He wasn't even someone I'd thought we'd be in with a chance of signing. Ditto for LVE and yet there are even more rumours about him.

Watch this space I guess.

 

[Netserk]

The main disappointment was Strong not making the front group on either stages 2 or 4. Was he caught up in the crashes on stage 2?

yes

 

[Roku]

I'm very surprised and pleased to see Hirt so high up on GC in the 5th stage. He is always worse on the first week, so having been able to stay in contact with the main GC guys in these difficult stages means he's up for a high GC. Top10 definitely incoming provided he stays on the bike for 3 weeks, which is always a tough ask.

 

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The main disappointment was Strong not making the front group on either stages 2 or 4. Was he caught up in the crashes on stage 2? I dunno, but on four when you see Aular and Turner there....

yes

not caught up only, but Strong injured his arm, and was still trying to get a bandage when the race restarted.

The day after, he said that he felt like was fast forwarded from stage 2 to stage 12.

 

[Leadbelly]

https://twitter.com/x/status/2054937577853952031

View: https://x.com/cyclingontnt/status/2054937577853952031


Winner winner, chicken dinner!

He had some bad luck at Tro Bro Leon, but the good legs were there on show yesterday. Almost effortlessly covering those Pinarello moves in the last few km.

Riley Sheehan takes first win of 2026 at Circuit de Wallonie - NSN Cycling Team

Riley Sheehan took the second victory of his professional career - and first of the 2026 season - with a dominant performance in Charleroi.

nsncyclingteam.com

"It was a great day for us,” says DS Davidzon. “The plan was to sprint with Riley, and we knew we needed to do a hard race from the middle part to drop the pure sprinters. We had young guys pulling, and they did a good job.

“Jens, Fin, Roei, and Dawid were still in the peloton once we got to the finishing circuits – Roei did an amazing job to close the two-man breakaway down, then the others kept the attacks in the final close, and positioned Riley well.

“Riley was calm and smart – he had the best legs, which you could see in the final. It was a real team effort, and we’re super proud of the boys.”
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Nothing of interest so far in Hongrie to report. Contract year Einhorn really needs to show something in these races when he gets his chance otherwise it ought to be adios at the end of the season.

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Hirt measured his effort well at the Giro today. I couldn't help thinking at the time though that making all those micro efforts at the back of the reduced peloton when others got dropped and he had to close the gaps wasn't the best use of energy. There's nobody to help him unfortunately as it would be a waste at this stage of the race for Pinarello to help out. He's better saving himself for the breaks - starting tomorrow!

 

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According to an interview in Czech press, Jan Hirt is sick, with a sore throat and running nose bothering him for two days now. He thinks its a result of the wet Potenza stage, where he felt terrible and didn't get to eat anything at all because of frozen hands. Due to his conditions and the completely unsuitable course, he fears to lose a lot of time in the ITT today, but does not intend to give up his goal of a top 10 finish, and also has his sights on Saturday's stage already, if health allows.

 

[Roku]

According to an interview in Czech press, Jan Hirt is sick, with a sore throat and running nose bothering him for two days now. He thinks its a result of the wet Potenza stage, where he felt terrible and didn't get to eat anything at all because of frozen hands. Due to his conditions and the completely unsuitable course, he fears to lose a lot of time in the ITT today, but does not intend to give up his goal of a top 10 finish, and also has his sights on Saturday's stage already, if health allows.

Losing a bit of time could be a blessing in disguise. If he is, let's say, five minutes away from the podium, he will have freedom to infiltrate the break in the Gressan stage which is tailor-made for him.

 

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a Blackmore update from the team:

 

[Leadbelly]

Well it was good to be in the mix today even if fifth is obviously not the result you hope for. Could they have played it differently for a better outcome, possibly.

Pinarello seems to be over his illness finally. Unfortunately tomorrow and Saturday look a bit too tough for him so the race will turn out to just have been a (valuable) learning experience for him.

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The devo team are racing in France currently at the Alpes Isere Tour. Couple of hilly stages so far with the heat playing a major role. Only Lewandowksi has managed to not lose time and the final stage will be too hard for him, so let's see if they can nab a stage podium or try something from the breaks instead.

Also the team has nabbed a Baby Giro invite. Haven't looked at the stages, but Verbrugghe (if selected) would seem the best bet for a stage result and anything from anybody else a bonus.

 

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Hirt gave it a go in the two biggest mountain stages, but without ever looking close to a top result, and empty legs after the rest day also meant that a Top 10 overall is long out of reach.

In Czech media he said that he would like to continue for another two or three years, but although the team likes their aging riders, I honestly would be surprised if this is considered to be enough for it. And it's not like he usually gets better on from the middle of the season.

 

[Leadbelly]

The team will need climbing doms I guess if the LVE/Buitrago deals go ahead. I think Bennett has done enough this year to get an extension for that purpose. Not sure about Jan though.

However not many realistic names jump out from the PCS list of expiring contract riders that could fill those roles, so maybe he has a chance with few other options.