Winning your first WorldTour race will always be a special moment for any rider, but Brady Gilmore could not have picked a better day to take his maiden victory at the top level of professional cycling.
The Australian neo-pro sprinted to an unforgettable win the final day of the Volta a Catalunya on Sunday in Barcelona, the home city of the team’s title sponsor, and with NSN co-founder Andrés Iniesta watching just a few hundred meters behind in the team car.
Gilmore says: “Such an awesome day – It’s so so awesome to win with Andrés in the car, you know, having him in the bus this morning and showing him the race plan and how we going to do it. Then to go out there and execute it as we did – I’m just lost for words, to be honest.
“I can’t thank the boys enough for putting me in the position to do this. It’s my first WorldTour win – it has been a really hard week but we never give up, and I found something special in the legs for today.”
The race finished its traditional ending around Montjuïc, with seven ascents of the punchy Alt del Castell de Montjuïc featuring in the final 50 kilometers.
Despite a flurry of attacks from the GC contenders earlier on in the stage, Gilmore was able to stay in touch with the peloton and got himself in a 34-man group that formed in the closing kilometers.
Gilmore positioned himself perfectly on the fast descent into the finish line and, after coming out of the slipstream of Dorian Godon (IGD), he hit the front with 25 meters remaining and held on to take the team’s second victory of this year’s race.
“It’s a super hard climb, but it’s more one for the punchy riders,” Gilmore adds. “I had a good feeling in the legs from the beginning of the stage. I fought until the end, and I never gave up.
“I thought that if there could be a small group over the top and I could be there, I’d have a chance. From watching the previous years, I knew when exactly to open my sprint up. I’ve been thinking about winning here every day, and to finally win a WorldTour race, it feels amazing.
“The first day was probably more suited to me, but it was my first time being a leader for the WorldTour team, and I probably got too excited and used too much energy. I applied everything I learned from that into today and executed it perfectly.”
Reflecting on a special day for the team, DS Oscar Guerrero says: “If you dreamed, it would still not happen like this. We knew we would have an opportunity today, which is why we rode to chase down the breakaway on the way to the circuit.
“From there, it was all about waiting – we rode smartly, we knew how the other teams were trying to race, and I never saw the chance of one guy soloing off the climb and going to the finish. The only message to Brady coming into the final was telling him to take the wheel of Godon and nothing more. We told Brady that he would take him to 150 meters to go.
“The week was incredible. First, the way that we rode – taking responsibility on five of the seven days, believing that we have an option to win, and of course, taking two stages. We know that our guys tried their best all week, and we cannot ask for any more than that. I never dreamed that we would win twice here this week before the race.
“Of course, today was extra special, having Andrés here with us. When people noticed that he was in the car with us, the reception was crazy. So many people were shouting for him. He was super emotional at the end – I told him that he needs to come in the team car at more races!”
Having enjoyed a front-row seat at today’s race, the enjoyment Iniesta took from watching the team’s sixth victory of 2026 was evident for all to see.
He says: “Amazing! Being able to enjoy Brady’s victory in Barcelona from inside the NSN team car has been an incredible experience. I’m very happy for the team’s success at the race.”
