Unibet Rose Rockets add yet another World Tour rider to their ranks - French CX specialist is a top UCI point source

The signing of Clément Venturini was long overdue in the professional cycling world. In the prime of his career, the 32-year old French rider was left without a contract for the upcoming year after the demise of Arkéa - B&B Hotels, and was surprisingly still left without one until the final days of the year. However, someone has recognized his value, and he has now signed with Unibet Rose Rockets for the 2026 season.

Venturini is a rider that has scored over 700 UCI points this year, and is a potentially key asset to any team in the battle for these points. This includes the lower-tier World Tour teams who begin now a new three-year cycle when it comes to UCI points, but specially ProTeams who eye World Tour promotion based on merit, but also guaranteed wildcards to several teams on the yearly. This is only regarding the UCI points, but in truth a lot more goes into receiving wildcards, results, exposure, etc.

And the French team has brought in another strong rider. Venturini is a talented classics rider and sprinter, racing to several strong results this year in the French calendar that made him one of Arkéa - B&B Hotels' top riders. The French team came to a close, and he found himself in a surprisingly difficult position.

"I really didn't see myself retiring in 2026, and I still don't. I still have energy, but I have to think about it... Given my physical condition and recent performances, most people around me don't understand how it could end," he said in a recent interview. "They tell me to keep believing until the very end, as long as the door isn't closed".

This Tuesday, Unibet Rose Rockets have announced the signing of Venturini. He had previously been linked to the team, and with its French license, it was a no-brainer. From 2027 onwards, points in cyclocross will aid in the points tally for teams on the road, making him an even more valuable rider - Venturini was fifth in the 2022 Cyclocross World Championships.

And for Unibet, it is their 26th rider. The team has underwent extreme changes, benefits of an improved budget and also a very positive image on social media. After the signing of a few riders, it seemed to have also had an impact on the negotiations more recently in the winter, with the team gaining more legitimacy and ability to sign big names.

14 signings in total, almost half of the entire team. The team's great project was Dylan Groenewegen, who comes in to lead the team in the sprints - with leadout man Elmar Reinders joining as well. Wout Poels from Astana and Victor Lafay from Decathlon also join from the World Tour; the team has signed European Championships time trial podium finisher Niklas Larsen and Hamburg Cyclassics winner Rory Townsend...

But also other talented riders such as Matyas Kopecky and Jannis Peter who each showed great results towards the end of the year; Tobias Muller, Eivind Broholt Fougner, Karsten Larsen Feldmann, Ronan Augé and Colin Savioz.