TDT-Unibet's Tour de France dream moves one step closer after gaining French license and increased investment
Cycling
One of the most social media active teams in the entire peloton, TDT-Unibet could be one step closer to achieving their dream of a Tour de France appearance in the coming years, after successfully changing the nationality of the team from Dutch to French, gaining new sponsorship and changing names in the process.
"After two very successful years for the TDT-Unibet ProTeam, the UCI ProTeam will continue as the Unibet Tietema Rockets," the PRT level team announce excitedly via a press release on their official website. "With Unibet stepping up as the first naming partner of the team in a new multi-year agreement with the team, the Unibet Tietema Rockets will become the first team in professional cycling with a franchise name. This development marks a huge step in the team's ambitions towards its first Tour de France participation."
As is the case with most teams, achieving a Tour de France wildcard is the big dream of TDT-Unibet's influencer owner, Bas Tietema. “To do so, we need to develop our riders' level, attract more global partners and tell our story in the best way possible,” team owner Tietema says. “Our goal is to be the best followable team for cycling fans around the world. With the new Rockets identity, we take a big step forward in creating a sustainable organization and hopefully accelerate our growth as a team.''
“Every cycling team starts out with that one dream, the Tour de France,” the 29-year-old Dutchman, who has both raced in the jersey of the team and acted as sports director at various times since founding the outfit back in 2023, concludes. “We have been working towards that dream for a long time and probably exceeded the expectations of many already. We are very proud of the development so far and now we're taking a big step towards realizing those dreams.''
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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