Iniesta’s move into cycling has also changed his perspective on elite sport. After spending time within the team environment at La Volta a Catalunya, he offered a striking comparison between football and cycling.
“I think both [cycling and football] are very similar, but I think cycling is tougher,” Iniesta said. “They have millimetres, seconds can be the difference.”
That understanding matters. Football allows a player to influence a match repeatedly, while cycling demands collective sacrifice, precise timing and patience. For NSN, those values are now part of the public identity Iniesta wants to build.
The sporting pressure will fall primarily on Biniam Girmay, whose stage wins and green jersey at the 2024 Tour de France established him as one of the peloton’s most dangerous sprinters. He has also returned to winning form this season, giving NSN a clear target when the route offers suitable finishes.
His own journey reinforces the team’s message of identity. “I was playing football at 11 and 12 years old, and I was good at it,” Girmay said. “But at the same time, I think maybe here they don't know, in Eritrea, cycling is bigger, so yeah, I decided to change sport.”
Girmay says he has no regrets, having “achieved my dreams”.
The opening-day team time trial will provide NSN’s first test, but Girmay may need to wait for a sprint opportunity. When it arrives, the team’s new identity will need a result to match its rhetoric.