There will be an air of familiarity to NSN’s roster for this year’s Paris-Nice, with Biniam Girmay headlining our seven-man squad for the Race to the Sun.
Joining Biniam for the race start in Yvelines, the department immediately to the west of the French capital, on Sunday will be three riders who have started every race alongside him so far in 2026: Lewis Askey, Guillaume Boivin, and home rider Matîs Louvel.
“It has been really nice riding as part of the core group with Bini,” says Askey. “We’ve not spent that much time together, but we’ve ridden well together, and the communication has been super good in the races we’ve done so far. We’ve come away with two wins already, and hopefully we can put Bini in a position to add to that at Paris-Nice.
“It hasn’t been hard for us to gel – I think that’s just because we all ride in a similar way. Everyone gets on well, and we have a good time. Even at Opening Weekend, which did not go so well for us, there were still a lot of positives to take from it, and hopefully that bond and the work that we’ve done so far help us here.”
Stages 1 and 2 immediately stand out as opportunities for NSN. The opening day ends with a local circuit around Carrieres-sous-Poissy, and the positioning of the Côte de Chanteloup les Vignes (1.1km, 8.3% average) could result in a reduced group contesting the finish. Stage 2 into Montargis is a more conventional sprint, replicating a finish used just two years ago.
Askey adds: “We should have a couple of chances earlier in the week, so hopefully we can score a win nice and early. After that, it does not seem as hard as it normally is, but it’s still going to be pretty tough going into the back end of the week, so hopefully it’ll be a good race to put a lot of work in before the rest of the Classics.”
Riley Sheehan and Tom Van Asbroeck – who have both competed with Girmay at three races – and Ryan Mullen, who raced with the Eritrean at Opening Weekend, complete our roster.
“The first stage looks really cool – I like the circuit with the hill, and it should be a great way to start,” said Sheehan, who will make his debut in the race next week.“The rest of the stages all look quite challenging. We’ll see with the weather, but for now, it’s looking OK!
“With it being my first time there, I don’t know what to expect. I’ve just heard a bunch of horror stories, mainly about the weather, but from what I’ve heard, it’ll make you super strong for the Classics. They’re my main objective for the early season, so I’m looking forward to a hard eight days and getting some fitness in the legs, then I hope to be flying once I get to E3 and Dwars door [Vlaanderen].”
Sports Director Dror Pekatch is the man tasked with overseeing the team’s attempts to claim its first win in the historic stage race.
“Our goals for Paris-Nice will be to target stages,” he says. “We have Bini for the sprints and other cards to play on other days. We will give our best shot at the TTT, too, and we’ll try to be creative. We have a great group going to the race and we are all very motivated.”
NSN Cycling Team at Paris-Nice (Sunday 8-15 March)
Riders: Lewis Askey (GBR), Guillaume Boivin (CAN), Biniam Girmay (ERI), Matîs Louvel (FRA), Ryan Mullen (IRL), Riley Sheehan (USA), Tom Van Asbroeck (BEL)
Sports Directors: Dror Pekatch (ISR), Rene Mandri (EST), Alex Cataford (CAN)