"The team was created to go to the Tour and try to win" - Victor Lafay on newly-found motivation for pro cycling at Unibet Rose Rockets

Unibet Rose Rockets could well race the 2026 Tour de France after one more wildcard has been attributed from this summer onwards, the team's French nationality and the major growth in level this winter. Victor Lafay was attracted by the project and that goal, and for a potential return as a leader to the Grand Boucle.

"I knew what I didn't want, but I didn't yet know what I really wanted. What I didn't want was to stay in a classic World Tour team structure where everything has to be controlled, perfect, and where there isn't much room for improvisation," he admits in words to Eurosport. Not a direct hit at Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale, rather a comment on the current situation for pro cyclists in which a lot is required of riders to perform at the highest level, often times standards that are unreachable without taking a big toll on the riders' personal or social lives.

"That's not how I operate. I want to stay involved in sports, but especially in cycling, because I get so much pleasure from riding. And then I thought I could use my position to communicate, share my experience, and perhaps help other riders who are struggling to find their way," the Frenchman says, already thinking of his potential role within the new team.

Unibet Rose Rockets have signed Dylan Groenewegen as a grand new leader alongside his leadout man Elmar Reinders; European time trial podium finisher Niklas Larsen; climbers Wout Poels and Jannis Peeters; Irish champion and Hamburg Cyclassics winner Rory Townsend; Novo Nordisk talent Matyas Kopecky and this week also Frenchman Ronan Augé. With Lukas Kubis as a current team leader added into the equation, it is very much a team that could find its way into the biggest race in the world, specially taking into consideration its popularity and media exposure through its own social media and video content strategies.

And that is also something that attracted Lafay a lot: "Just in terms of communication, they're exceptional. They do things differently, and that motivates me. On the contrary. When I see the feedback on my signing, I think everyone understood that this would be a team where I'd really feel at home."

"A few World Tour teams came to talk, especially after China or the races in Italy. I also spoke with TotalEnergies, who had a great project for me, a really human team," he reveals. But Bas Tietema and the Unibet project also had interest: "When I told him no, he wanted to come see me in Annecy. He wanted to understand why I wanted to stop, and find a compromise so that I would be happy to continue."

"The team was created to go to the Tour and try to win a stage. Their recruitment is geared towards that, and I think they needed my profile," he concludes. "I'll be a leader and puncher, but I'm also ready to help Dylan Groenewegen in the sprints. If we want to win in the Tour, we can't spread ourselves too thin."