Patrick Casey, the former Irish junior road race champion, is set for a second season with the U23 line-up of a World Tour feeder team after securing a contract with NSN Development Team.
The 19-year-old rode for the Israel Premier Tech Academy this year, gaining invaluable international experience and also finishing in 3rd place at the National Road Race Championships, a fine result in the U23-senior event as a first-year U23.
The Israel Premier Tech World Tour team has changed hands in recent months, after being targeted with strong pro-Palestine protests during the 2025 campaign. It has become a Swiss-registered outfit under new management and new ownership.
The new team will be known as NSN Cycling Team next season, which Ryan Mullen will ride for, while Casey will compete for the U23 development squad. He will have the chance to step up and ride for the World Tour line-up through the season and is strongly tipped to do so.
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It will be the third year Casey has raced for a development team linked to a World Tour senior squad. In his second year as a junior he raced for Team GRENKE-Auto Eder, which is effectively Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe's junior team.
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Joining Casey this year, as new arrivals to the NSN U23 development team, are: British junior cyclocross champion Oscar Amey (17), Canadian junior road champion Ben Morin (18), Australian junior TT champion Max Goold (18), UCI Nations Cup race winner, Norwegian Filip Smørås (18), and Polish U23 road champion Dawid Lewandowski (19).
As a junior Casey, won a stage at Ain Bugey Valromey Tour (2.1) - regarded as the hardest junior French stage race. He also claimed a TTT stage victory, and held the leader's jersey, at Eroica Juniores Nations Cup in Italy, and won the Italian TTT, Gran Premio Eccellenze Valli del Soligo (1.1), as well as the Irish junior road race title in Athea, Co Limerick.
This year he rode for the Irish team in the U23 road race at the Europeans in France and spent the season gaining experience riding stage races and one-day events across Europe. He is one of 10 riders from his U23 trade team's 2025 roster returning for 2026, six of whom rode for the World Tour line-up during 2025.
“Our team is a real springboard to the WorldTour. When we look at our group, we already see the roles and racing styles that, once developed, can take riders to the NSN WorldTeam," said Tim Elverson, NSN Devo team manager.
"We’ve successfully progressed riders into key roles at the highest level before, and that pathway remains a central part of what we do. We race as a team to win, but we’re equally focused on every part of the process required to get there.
"While 2025 was another strong year, the 2026 roster reflects a clear evolution of the squad. We have an exciting group of young riders, including new national champions such as Morin, Goold, Lewandowski, and Amey, alongside many other promising talents. I believe we can win a lot of races – never say never.”
