NSN have announced their Tour de France team to support Biniam Girmay at this year's race as the Eritrean looks to repeat his 2024 success.
Two years ago, Girmay announced himself as a superstar of the sport in France, winning stages in Turin, Colombey-les-Deux-Eglises, and Villeneuve-sur-Lot en route to taking home the green jersey.
Girmay hasn't hit the same heights since then. However, he's enjoyed an uptick in form this season, scoring wins at the Vuelta Comunitat Valenciana, Clásica de Almería, and Baloise Belgium Tour.
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He'll be primarily backed up by Jake Stewart, Lewis Askey, Tom Van Asbroeck, and Matis Louvel during this year's Tour. The NSN selection is rounded out by Krists Neilands, George Bennett, and debutant Marco Frigo, who will have freedom to fight for stage wins in the hills and mountains.
"Everybody who knows me understands how special the Tour de France is to me – but I'm more interested in creating more special moments than looking back on what I've achieved in the past," Girmay said.
"I know my form is good, but it's also great knowing that I have a really committed team around me. We have worked hard since the start of the season to discover the best ways to work together, to build trust in each other, and to score the best results possible.
"I'm going into this year's race full of confidence and with a real sense of anticipation for the first sprint opportunities."
Girmay, who also has a stage of the Giro d'Italia and a Gent-Wevelgem title on his palmarès, became the first Black African rider to win a stage of the Tour on stage 3 two years ago, beating Fernando Gaviria and Arnaud De Lie to the line.
His trio of wins in that edition, along with two second places and three other top-10 finishes, provided the basis for his green jersey triumph in Paris, 33 points ahead of Jasper Philipsen.
There are few opportunities for a sprint win in the early stages of this year's race, which kicks off with a team time trial and several tough stages in Catalonia.
Stage 5 in Pau may be the first chance for Girmay and the other star sprinters, while further chances should reveal themselves on stage 7 in Bordeaux, 8 in Bergerac, 11 in Nevers, 12 in Chalon-sur-Saône, and 17 in Voiron.
NSN, riding their first Tour de France under the team's new identity, will be "focussed primarily around Bini and the sprints," said head directeur sportif, Sam Bewley.
"But the race is 21 stages. We want to have a purpose and a goal across the entire race, so it's important to have guys like George, Krists, and Marco in his first Tour there so we can keep NSN in the race across as much of the three weeks as possible.
"We feel confident with the guys we have to be able to deliver some good stage outcomes from breakaways, mountain stages, or how the Tour plays out, in addition to our primary focus of the sprints."
New Zealander Bennett will be the team's key rider in the mountains as he seeks to infiltrate breakaways. This will be his sixth Tour start and first since 2022.
British pairing Stewart and Askey are both punchy riders with good finishes, though neither has won a race in 2026, with Askey coming closest as he finished second on stage 3 of the Baloise Belgium Tour.
Latvian racer Neilands is an option for the breaks and will race his fourth Tour after recovering from a crash in Belgium. 26-year-old Frigo, who broke through with a series of strong rides at the 2023 Giro d'Italia, is another man for the breaks, having recently finished fourth on a stage of the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes.
"Any rider's first Tour de France is special. The 2010 Tour – and the big fight between Contador and Schleck on the Tourmalet – was one of the first races I remember watching on TV and knowing what was going on. To be part of this big event will be amazing," Frigo said.
"I am super happy with my level right now – I have done everything I can ahead of the race. I think I can try to fight for a stage, and I want to take all the opportunities I can.
"A lot depends on the tactics, but already from the first week, there are some good stages that we will try to grab. Then, of course, I will give 100% for Bini on the sprint stages, so I think it's true to say that there is a lot of food in the dish for us."
NSN team for the 2026 Tour de France
- Biniam Girmay
- Lewis Askey
- George Bennett
- Marco Frigo
- Matis Louvel
- Krists Neilands
- Jake Stewart
- Tom Van Asbroeck
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