(Paris) The Israel Premier Tech cycling team, whose presence was denounced during several races this season by pro-Palestinian demonstrators, is changing its name and structure and becoming “NSN Cycling Team”, the latter said on Thursday.
“International sports and entertainment company NSN (Never Say Never) and Stoneweg, a global investment platform based in Geneva, Switzerland, have entered into a joint venture in professional road cycling to take over the structure of the WorldTour and Development teams (from Israel Premier Tech, Editor’s note) for the 2026 season,” it is indicated in a press release.
“As a result, the name of the new World Tour team is “NSN Cycling Team”. »
The text further emphasizes that the new team is of “Swiss” nationality and that its structure will be “Spanish”, based in Barcelona and Girona, in Catalonia. Among the co-founders of the NSN company is one of the legends of FC Barcelona, and former Spanish international, Andres Iniesta.
This formation replaces Israel PT, whose presence in the peloton has been contested on several occasions this season by pro-Palestinian demonstrators, in particular during the Tour of Spain, against a backdrop of conflict in the Gaza Strip.
At the beginning of the month, the Canadian group Premier Tech announced that it was withdrawing from the team with immediate effect, deeming it “unsustainable” to continue to sponsor it.
“Although we have noted the team’s decision to continue under a new name for the 2026 season, the very reason for our commitment to it has been eclipsed to such an extent that it is now unsustainable for Premier Tech to continue in its role as sponsor,” Premier Tech argued.
A month earlier, the Israel PT team had actually announced that it would change its name and move away from “its current Israeli identity”. She added that its owner, Israeli-Canadian billionaire Sylvan Adams, would step back and would “no longer speak on behalf of the team”.
“We are proud to welcome NSN and Stoneweg to the team and to announce our new name and our new identity,” reacted Thursday the general director of NSN Cycling Team, Kjell Carlström, quoted in the press release.
According to the text, a training camp is planned for next week, while the team’s new colors and program will be revealed “in the coming weeks”.
