Spin Cycle is Escape Collective’s news digest, published every Monday and Friday. You can read it on the website (obviously) or click here to have it delivered straight to your inbox.
Hello!
Welcome back to Spin Cycle.
Today's newsletter takes us to the bizarre places we're used to frequenting, but rather curiously (and frustratingly) we leave with even more questions than we started with.
We scurried off to find some answers, returning with some but not all. In the meantime here's what you need to know from a regularly odd week in the world of cycling.
Never say never say what?
It's here, the brand new Israel-Premier Tech, now called Team NSN, which stands for the Barcelona-based Never Say Never, an “international sports and entertainment company," of which former footballer Andrés Iniesta is a co-founder. NSN has taken over the team's licence as a joint venture with Stoneweg, a Swiss asset management firm.
Iain Treloar has already done some digging and turned up some dodgy-looking dealings of NSN in Peru.
And yes, the NSN logo is a rip-off of the Nine Inch Nails logo, and the NSN parent company's About Us section of the website sounds like it's naming franchises for an NBA breakaway league.
"Mavericks. Disruptives. Troublemakers. Lateral Thinkers. Brave. Insurgent and shameless. That's how we are." We're not going to try and join up any of those words with the past year of the team as it was formerly known.
But we still have one big question. Is Sylvan Adams still involved and if so, in what capacity? Marca seem to think Adams' ties with the team are completely cut, maybe willing to try and move on with the team's new Spanish identity as quickly as possible. From whispers we're hearing, we're not so sure.
NSN surely can't be funding the entire operation, maybe it's Stoneweg and their multitude of assets? Details in the press release were slightly vague, so we tried to get more answers out of the team this morning.
After texting the first team press officer we received an automated reply stating they were travelling today, the morning after the team's big announcement. The message to our second port of call went completely unanswered, while the third press officer told us they no longer work for the team. A Thursday evening press release followed by radio silence the next morning? Coincidence or conspiracy? Never say never! We will persist in trying to get answers, it may just take some extra wrangling.
It's not too early to start your Christmas shopping 🎁
In lighter news, look what popped up in our algorithm this week! Recognise this guy?
Did we do a good job with this story?
