"I'll be the most annoying guy": Unibet's rising star ready to soak up every last bit of Dylan Groenewegen's experience

Unibet Rose Rockets have a handful of exciting names among their ranks for the 2026 season. One of those that stand out is the Slovakian champion Lukas Kubis. A year ago, the 25-year-old was merely a continental rider who was mostly unknown to the general public. But Unibet Rockets spotted untapped potential within Kubis and gave him a chance to prove himself in professional ranks. Kubis grabbed the presented opportunity with both hands and finished 6th at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, amassing impressive 31 top-10 results. Suddenly, he's the one to lead a ProTeam. Maybe even at the Tour de France!

As one of the leading names for Unibet Rockets, Kubis was therefore invited for the gala where the 2026 Tour course was presented. "It was so cool," Kubis beamed to Domestique. "I really enjoyed it because you only get to experience your first Tour de France presentation once. When we got there, I was like a little kid. I was so happy, and when the presentation started, I just looked at all the pictures and thought, 'We're so close.'"

A year ago, nobody would've considered the Unibet Rockets a favourite for a Tour de France wildcard with Israel - Premier Tech, Lotto, Tudor, Q36.5, Uno-X Mobility and TotalEnergies all placed much higher on the priority list. But the situation has changed massively over the course of the season with three of these teams moving up to WorldTour, both Swiss teams are granted an automatic wildcard and so there's only the relegated Cofidis, TotalEnergies and Unibet Rose Rockets to split three wild cards among three teams. The odds seem to be in favor of Bas Tietema's team.

"Now we just have to wait," Kubis says. "There's still a lot of work to do, but I'm sure we'll be ready when the opportunity comes."

What do Dylan Groenewegen, Victor Lafay and Wout Poels have in common? All three have won a Tour de France stage in their career and all of them will race for Unibet Rose Rockets in 2026. For Kubis, racing in the same team as sprint star Groenewegen is a unique opportunity to learn from one of the best in the trade and the Slovakian is well aware of that.

"When I heard about those guys, I was really happy. When I met them, I told them I'm the most annoying guy on the team for them because I'm going to ask so many questions."

For him, it's primarily an opportunity for progression. "This is the only way you can learn, because they know how to handle it, because they already have so much experience. If there's a Tour de France next year, it will be my first Grand Tour, my first three-week race. I just want to know how to do it, because it's very difficult. People can't imagine something like that."

Groenewegen brings along from Jayco AlUla his friend and trusted sprint set-up Elmar Reinders. But the 33-year-old will not able to do it all alone and that's when Kubis steps in as a potential last man in the sprint train that aims to win a Tour stage.

"I'm really looking forward to the first training camp, because that's when we'll start developing the sprint train. When you're sprinting at 60, 70 kilometers per hour, you have to trust each other implicitly. I spoke with Groenewegen and Reinders during the first meeting, and I can feel the energy."